Palm CEO: Future of the Treo, iPhone thoughts

A bunch of Windows Mobile 5 devices are coming out for Christmas and it’s a good time to have Jean-Baptiste Su from The French News Agency ask Palm’s CEO, Ed Colligan, about how Palm intends to differentiate Treo devices from other Windows Mobile smart phones such as the Motorola Q, the Samsung Blackjack or the T-mobile Dash.

Answer: The plan is to build a better interface and to support the major radio standards (CDMA, GSM, EDGE, EVDO, WiFi…). Palm has forced Microsoft engineers to make changes to the Windows Mobile platform to accommodate Palm’s requirements, which nobody seems to have done before, When asked about the Apple iPhone, Ed thinks that due to Steve Jobs’ aversion for wireless carriers, Apple’s best bet will be to release a WiFi/VOIP iPod to avoid dealing with the carriers, a group that Wall Street Journal reporter Walt Mossberg like to compare to Russian ministries. (MP3 Recording)

Guest Editor:
Jean Baptiste Su, Principal Analyst
The French News Agency

Publisher’s note: Well… Steve Jobs and the carriers are all control freaks, that’s probably why they can’t stand each other.