Facing increased competition in the smartphone market, Palm announced layoffs on Friday in an effort to “to consolidate resources and focus our efforts more effectively”. The company did not disclose how many of its workforce of 1,050 would be affected.
A recent corporate survey by ChangeWave Research shows that while many corporations are scaling down their IT budgets, the corporate smartphone market will actually buck the trend. Unfortunately for Palm, RIM continues its dominance in this market and Apple is moving up quickly. Only 5 percent of companies are looking at Palm smartphones, according to the report. A year ago, this number was twice as high.
The Palm Centro has been a hit for the company but at USD$99 a device, Palm cannot be making much money from it.
Palm is hoping to turn its fortunes around next year with at least one new device running its forthcoming Nova operating system. The new device is expected in mid-2009.