What Palm Needs to Do to Win

The Palm Pre has been gaining a lot of hype, and rightly so. They're one of the original smartphone companies (remember when smartphone was synonymous with Palm Pilot?), and the previews of this phone has looked really sleek. They haven't released many details of the phone yet, but from the pictures it could be a real winner. The smartphone market is a difficult market to compete in right now, with stiff competition from iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. What can Palm do to win? I think these three things would guarantee a Palm in every person's hand.. ok that was a really bad pun.

1. It has to have an intuitive, non-buggy UI. This may seem pretty obvious, but for some reason companies haven't been able to actually produce a feature rich, non-buggy smartphone. The Blackberry Storm was a great example of a phone that looked good on paper but when it actually came out it was buggy and hard to use. I think Palm could realistically ditch a camera or even wifi if the phone had a nice and sleek browser, maps program, and contacts. Of course, the phone would have to be able to text and call well.

2. The phone needs to cost under $100. Smartphones are still seen today as something that people don't need. They're a luxury item for the rich and snobbish who like to have cute iPhone games in their pocket. I think if Palm prices this at $99 (which they never will, by the way), this would bring the smartphone into the mainstream. Yes, there exist smartphones at this price point on major carriers, but they suck (see #1). 

3. They need to make a deal with Verizon. This is killer, the #1 reason I hear people tell me for not getting an iPhone is "I'm locked into a family plan with Verizon". The next potential 'iPhone killer' NEEDS to be on Verizon. AT&T already has the iPhone, and Sprint/T-Mobile are just not big enough carriers to make a dent in the smartphone market. Palm is probably locked in with Sprint for at least a year or so, but they need to be first to get on Verizon.

If Palm makes a smartphone with an intuitive, non-buggy ui, prices it as under $100, and (eventually) makes a deal with Verizon, this phone will be the first smartphone that my friends who live outside of San Francisco actually use.