Ryan Block's last day as Engadget editor-in-chief ends with 1 year update on the state of Palm

Ryan Block is ending his role as editor-in-chief at Engadget to pursue a new gadget site opportunity with long-time buddy Peter Rojas and I wish them both the best of luck and look forward to seeing what they come up with. As a fitting end to his role at Engadget, Ryan posted an update to his open letter to Palm that he posted last year. His 2007 letter gave lots of unsolicited advice to Palm and CEO Ed Colligan even responded to the letter. The sad news is that one year later there is very little that shows Palm has changed much and it is tough to keep pulling for the company and hoping they come out of it.Looking through Ryan's latest article, I have to agree with his comments on the new Treo Pro and you will see this in my review next week. For a high end device, available only at a US$549 unlocked price, the keyboard is a step back to the low-end Centro line and the lack of Palm's special touches is disappointing.

I began my mobile career with a Palm device and want to see them succeed. But in todays market with strong competition from RIM, Apple, and HTC I think people are expecting more. That said, I do know a lot of new smartphone users who are very happy with the Palm Centro and wonder if us gadget enthusiasts are expecting more from Palm than what is really needed to be successful. Sometimes we get wrapped up by the latest and greatest and the common person may just want something that meets their basic needs.