MILPITAS, Calif.-Handheld device makers Palm Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. seemed to fare relatively well over the quarter, with both companies reporting relatively solid earnings.
Palm said it managed to move into the black and capitalize on its new products, scoring a net income of $5.7 million, or 19 cents per share, up from the $36.6 million net loss the company reported during the same quarter last year. The company’s new Zire and Tungsten T PDAs represented 44 percent of its device revenues. Palm also said it expects to separate its device and operating systems business by the first half of 2003.
Separately, RIM reported results in-line with the company’s projections, scoring third-quarter revenues of $74.2 million. The company’s BlackBerry subscribers increased by about 60,000 to 463,000 total subscribers. However, RIM’s loss in the third quarter widened dramatically from the same period a year ago because of a patent infringement dispute and a special charge related to a recent restructuring.
Not to be left out, Treo maker Handspring Inc. said it plans to release a “major new product” sometime next year, a device with wireless capabilities that will likely use the newest version of Palm Inc.’s operating system.
The company first hinted of its plans during its third-quarter conference call, and could provide further insight into the device in its upcoming earnings call in early January. That the device will likely use the Palm OS 5 is notable since the new operating system includes integrated support for wireless voice and data capabilities.
