It appears that Sprint will announce its launch plans for the latest Palm smartphone sometime this week. As you know by now, early reviews of the Palm Pre have mostly been raves (here's one from Wired, if you don't believe me.). And word has it that the Palm Pre will be sold in Wal-Mart, a huge boost for Palm, if true.
At the same time, surveys continue to show that Google's Android mobile OS is picking up steam-and this despite some pretty lousy early Android-based phones (T-Mobile, get with the program).
Meanwhile, complaints about the iPhone's spotty network (supplied by AT&T) and the BlackBerry Storm's flawed touch-screen continue to mount. Granted, Apple and RIM still dominate the smartphone scene, and new releases will correct many of the flaws in their current mobile offerings.
But it's also possible that we are about to witness a dramatic change in the U.S. smartphone landscape, currently dominated by Apple and RIM.
Indeed, within a few years, Palm and Google could be sitting atop the smartphone heap.
Preposterous? Maybe. But number portability has made it a whole lot easier for customers to switch vendors, as has the decrease in early termination fees. What's more, it hasn't been that long since Palm ruled the roost in this sector. And despite some recent missteps, the company has a knack of turning out really good phones. Seriously, how long did it take Apple to vault to near the top of the smartphone heap?.
And then there's King Midas and the rest of the minions at Google. The fact is, you won't make a living betting against that crew. Expect vendors to come out with better and better Android-based phones.
For business folks, this is good news. A resurgent Palm and an emerging Google means better mobile operating systems and better smartphones-maybe even a phone that can replace your notebook. For Apple, RIM, Microsoft and Nokia (and the Symbian nation), the message is clear: time to up your game.
This could get very interesting.
