CNet is reporting that Dell will stop selling the Axim. Many questions come to mind immediately.
- Is the Windows Mobile OS a failure?
- Is the product a failure?
- Is the product category a failure?
- Is something else going on?
Well after a little thought and research it turns out that it is a little bit of product failure combined with a shifting market. The Axim was not exactly a hit like the iPaq nor did Dell ever go on to convert over to phone enabled Axim.
As Windows Mobile became successful, Microsoft continued to grow the product adding in phone support. This was in line with the convergence of handheld and phones. And like a lot of market shifts the dominate players have lost their position. The classic example is IBM going from its monopoly position in mainframes to not even making a PC computer today. Sp both HP and Dell did not take advantage of the new capabilities of Windows Mobile to make phone calls. And that lack of foresight lead directly to a tumbling market share. The PDA only device market is losing ground to the converged devices.
HP is still playing catch up as well as the iPaq now fades. Only time will tell if they can recover or become a niche player in the fast growing mobile device space.
What do you think?
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