In some ways, Palm and Nokia might be polar opposite companies: one is a perennial underdog who has mainly seen modest success in the US market, the other is a global giant who sells more phones than most anybody yet can’t see to gain any traction in the US. Then again, I also see the companies as very similar: both were pioneers in the smartphone space and are facing difficult times ahead, both appear to be betting the farm on new and untested Linux-based operating systems, both have straight-up loyal (if not fanatical) groups of users pulling for them. Heck, I even picked Nokia as the company I’d like to see buy Palm if Palm were for sale (they’re not).
All this has been in the back of my mind this week as I mulled over my time with the Nokia N97 Mini and the Nokia N900. I also need to thank the generous and kind Nokia Experts commenters, who have been super-helpful in getting me to look at Nokia phones in a different light.
So let’s do this: Round Robin Round Two!