Sexy Jihad

Zdnet has an interesting analysis on why Palm went from number one to…..well……..I don’t have to explain:

When Palm ruled the handheld-computing market, few thought it would ever have to partner with Microsoft.

But a series of missteps, from manufacturing gaffes to strategic blunders, eventually made Palm’s partnering with its longtime rival seem like a possibility–and, for both parties, a palatable one at that. While no one mistake can be blamed for Palm’s difficulties over the last five years, many analysts agree that a combination of events both strengthened Microsoft’s hand in the mobile market and made Palm more open to partnering with its old adversary.

“When viewed in conjunction with the sale of PalmSource (a Palm spin-off that now manages the Palm OS) earlier this month, it’s an acceleration in the demise of the Palm OS platform and final confirmation that its once-dominant position in the broader handheld market is gone for good,” said Carmi Levy, a senior research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group.

Palm’s decision to use Windows Mobile software also highlights some of the missed opportunities and key moments in Palm’s history that could have allowed the company to remain not only dominant but autonomous in the smart-phone marketplace instead of seeking the help of Microsoft.

So what happened?

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