The Future is Treos
Aside from the release of the first images of the Treo 650, this week has also been very interesting and filled with encouraging news for the future of our beloved Treos.
It started when Business Week's Stephen Wildstrom discussed the future of smart phones in his article "The World at your Fingertips" noting that they are "a hotbed of innovation" - those of you who already own a Treo 600 will know exactly what he means by this as for example the number of applications being released for Treonauts almost on a daily basis is truly staggering (those of you that don't yet own one should give the Treo some serious consideration).
While many of us Treonauts could have been categorized as 'early adopters' (basically we get to see cool stuff before everybody else does 
) it appears that smart phones at large are "also starting to win over consumers". Wildstrom (like Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal) is a big convert to the Treo 600 and notes that it "offers most buyers the best combination of features and size".
Then came an In-Stat/MDR report entitled 'Smartphones Rising' which outlined how as better devices and lower prices combine with other factors to fuel growth and meet demand, smartphone shipments are set to rise dramatically over the next five years - projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 44% over the next five years.
Although In-Stat foresees that Symbian-based smartphones will lead the pack with Microsoft's platform second, I believe that Treos could come in at a very close third position if palmOne is able to execute properly over the coming 24 months. Apparently the threat of a rapidly rising palmOne in the mobile phone sector in general and the growing importance of the smartphone market in particular is now considered serious enough for A.G. Edwards to state in a research note that "Nokia may unveil a competitive device to palmOne's Treo 600 smart phone in the coming weeks".
Strangely, although this news should have proven a vindication for palmOne's efforts, the company's shares swooned Tuesday and closed sharply lower apparently as a result of this forthcoming Nokia phone which A.G. Edwards gave the ominous heading "A Treo-killer?".
In our opinion, A.G. Edwards' analysts don't know what they are talking about and should buy themselves a Treo 600 before making such statements. It is evident that few commentators have yet fully understood how important the software component of a smartphone is. In this respect, Nokia may have some extraordinary hardware development competencies but when it comes to software (particularly Phone/PC integration) it falls flat.
Perhaps they should consider rewording it to note instead that the "Treo is a Killer".
If you don't yet own a Treo 600 and would like to learn a little more about what you're missing out on please read this earlier Treonauts post.
