Handspring SWOT Analysis
Strengths
1. Strong Board of Directors. Jeff Harkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan are considered industry leaders. In fact they had been credited with reviving the handheld computing industry. The Palm Pilot which they developed was the most successful product launch in computing history.
2. Good brand identity, strong reputation. By the summer of 2000, Handspring had a 40% market share. There was a four month backlog in orders when Handspring first entered market.
3. Integration of hardware and software for ease of use. Handspring had a license for the Palm operating system. Hawkins created what he called a "virtual company" to bring hardware design and manufacturing companies together to bring the product to market. Also unlike Palm, Handspring had their hardware and software developer working together to develop a communicator that addressed how people actually use their wireless devices. In developing the Treo, Handspring employed ethnographer who observed how people used their cell phones and PDAs.
4. A company with focused products. The Visor line was continued to have a large market share in the PDA user market. The Treo line was to focus on the increasing functionality by combine PDAs with Cell phone technology to become a communicator.
5. Convenience seen in all in one Treo product. Phone + organizer + e-mail + Web
Weaknesses
1. Inability to differentiate from competitors. The Palm OS had been licensed to many companies and made up the lion's share of the PDA business. All of the major competitors have the same OS.
2. Low expertise in other areas and functiona ...