Thread: [Palm OS] What's Garnet up to with the expiration date?
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burmashave is offline burmashave
2008-03-21 , 16:51
Posts: 86 | Thanked: 24 times | Joined on Jan 2008
#22
Have folks seen this article?

Palm OS on Nokia: Strategy or tactic?

From the article:

--There are several ways Access could make money from this [Garnet VM]:
* Give away the emulator in beta but charge for the final version.
* Give away the emulator on N-series but charge for it on other platforms.
* Give away the emulator everywhere and make money by selling support software and bundling a software store and taking a cut of the purchase fees for apps (a derivative of the iMode and Acrobat models).

Intrigued by the possibilities, I talked to folks at Access. They shot down most of my speculation.
Personally, I've not been encouraged by Access. I don't see a road map for future development, and I get the feeling that Access may have released its GVM for reasons that do not imply future development. Some good guesses have been already posted, especially by Johnx. I'll toss out a two of my own:

- Access may have had GVM in the "bank"
- Access may have released GVM as a "bone" to Nokia

Perhaps Access already had GVM in the "bank" in terms of having developed it before realizing that its market potential is minimal. Given that the beta GVM release has garnered use only among a niche group, this may well be true. At the same time, Access may be working on a closer relationship with Nokia. If this is the case, it might make sense for Access to release a basic GVM that allows Nokia to better sell its internet tablets.

Neither scenario provides much hope that Access intends to expend much effort on future GVM development. Commercial software development is expensive, and most companies are loathe to expend effort on software that has, as unique 311 points out, minimal commercial potential. It would be nice to see Access open source the GVM; however, companies often fail to see the value in doing so.

I'm going to give POSE a whirl, and I hope POSE development moves forward. I'm not a developer, I only play one on TV. But I'm going to see if I can help out on the POSE effort.