Why did most of the early PDA companies fail, even if they had innovative and sophisticated product designs?
Despite of having innovative and sophisticated product designs, most of the early PDA companies fail because of some critical factors such as running out of money and funds; having insufficient complementary goods, suppliers and distribution channels; having a narrow installed base; due to lack of advanced and enabling technologies, facing difficulties in terms of developing memory capacity, process power, modem size, battery life and size, software products; lack of awareness of PDAs functions. The final blow to these companies was blown by Microsoft when the entry of WinPad was announced by it. The buyers of PDA, who were already in less number, halted to for the WinPad and stopped ordering the early PDA.
Could early PDA companies have done anything differently to survive?
Early PDA companies underestimated the sales volume as well as the cost of PDAs process and production that is why they encountered financial difficulties to afford and execute their projects as a result most of PDA companies ran out of money. However, some companies like Sharp and Casio were differently focused on more specialized devices and vertical markets. By doing so, these companies could survive and kept operating.
From my point of view, the best and most logical thing that early and failed PDA companies could have done was to apply merger and acquisitions strategies in order to create more financial resources, more complementary goods, more distribution channels, and larger installed base so as to sustainably carry out their projects and accomplish their short-term and long-term goals.
Why was Palm successful where so many others had failed?
The new Palm Pre and its new webOS, which will launch this spring, have impressed those who’ve seen them, and appear to have a real shot at competing with the iPhone and
