Today is a sad day for the PalmOS as Sony gives word that they will stop releasing new models to the US market. On a call with Sony, they have read to me a statement that they emphasized will not be released in written form:
"Sony continues to view mobile devices as a key pillar to our core business strategy. Presently, Sony is reassessing the direction of the conventional PDA market, and Sony will not introduce any new Clie handheld models in the U.S. this fall. Product development and sales continue for the Japanese market only. Sony is taking this time to examine the conventional PDA business and how it will transition into the future."
We were supposed to get in touch from someone in Gartner but Sony must have forgotten to email us on the details. PDA Buyers Guide though has managed to get the following information from Gartner:
* Sony had 20% of the Palm OS market in Q1, down from 25% in 2003, not good.
* Sony as a company is struggling financially. They need to concentrate on game consoles and games, and other bread and butter ventures.
* Sony is trying to buy MGM, which involves a great deal of money.
* The Clie's high end multimedia niche didn't pay off.
* They came out with 30 different models and that made for hard work to differentiate models.
* Innovation slacked, with the UX50 being the last innovative model, and that came out 1 year ago.
* Sony Clie models are expensive to produce.
* Sony didn't keep pace with PalmOne restructing and cost reduction.
* PalmOne products are cutting into Sony territory: T3, Zire 71 and 72.
* Only 160,000 PDAs shipped in Japan last year. Todd wonders how worthwhile PDA sales in Japan are since high end feature phones are king there (read PDA Buyer's Guide's full article)
Sony also mentioned that they will still continue to support the current models they have in the market -- the Clie TH55, Clie UX50, Clie TJ37, and the Clie TJ27.
Just last week, Sony Japan introduced two accessories for the Clié. This somehow indicates that the Clie will still live and be enjoyed by the Japanese people.
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