BOB SHARE

A senior vice president at Palm has just left the company, and one of its biggest retail partners, Radio Shack, as of today will phase out all systemwide stock of Palm phones.

Michael Abbott, Palms SVP of Software and Services, will officially leave his executive post on Friday, April 23 after the company confirmed his resignation last Friday.

And today, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that Radio Shack no longer plans to sell the Palm Pre or the Palm Pixi, the mobile companys two current models.

Radio Shack sold the phones with its biggest mobile partner, Sprint. However, sales of other Sprint handsets like the Blackberry Curve easily outsold the Pre and the Pixi.


The retailer will replace the Palm phones with a new Blackberry and another "message-centric device."

In a Barrons interview, Sprint spokesperson Scott Sloat. "This is in line with Radio Shack’s normal product planning process - there is a designated amount of space in stores for handsets and they work to keep the line up of devices as current as possible."

The two losses for Palm come as the company continues to be unsuccessful in its bid to find a buyer. The company, once regarded as a leader in mobile electronics, has sunk to a point where it is now relegated to the bottom of the totem pole.

Analyst Lawrence Harris told the Wall Street Journal that Palms "fundamental outlook remains highly challenging."

Thats what comes to mind for me first thing--shes part of the Superman "family" but doesnt wear the big red S.  Instead shes got, well, literally nothing for a chest emblem.  Ok, not nothing...but rather two whole lots of nothing. :P

I had to get this figure loose on Ebay where not surprisingly, shes the most popular figure in Wave 10, more popular than even the sensationally accessory-laden clown prince of crime, the Joker.  Thats based solely on price, where PG was the most expensive of the three Wave 10 figures I got (the other was Man-Bat).



I have to confess: the first thing I did when I got this figure was to compare her torso with the rest of the female figures I had from the line like Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl.  And its no surprise that Power Girls is a new sculpt which is bigger in two specific areas. Yup.  Perhaps the extra cost in molding a new chest prevented other nicer add-ons?
But despite being disappointed at the lack of accessories (other than the Imperiex C&C, which Im kinda meh/blah about, mainly due to the size of the complete figure), Ive been pleasantly surprised by the overall integrity of the figures joints, especially the new thigh/hip swivel/hinges.  It could be just that the fig I got was nice and tight but Id like to think Mattel has improved on the quality of the line, especially since theyve hiked prices.  Still, tight joints mean tight poses, and thats where Power Girl shines.



Like: The face sculpt, viewed head-on.  Unfortunately beside looking all dolled up and pretty, shes barely got an expression from this angle, though her eyes have been painted nice and sharp and blue. :)


Dislike: The face sculpt, when viewed from the side. Its a little flat for my liking. Whats worse is that she also looks she has no neck, giving her a little bit of a constipated expression.


Like: The sculpted folds in the boots, cape.  They also did a good job with her, um..."emblem."

Like: That her arms are nice and muscular without being to beefy.  We definitely dont want PG looking like a female body builder although Ive read in some places that some fans think she should look that way. Not me.

Like: Her new leg joints, which dont have the hinge cut on the outside of her hips.  She looks more natural when posed in wider stances compared to the older heroine figures.

Dislike: That her left knee piece doesnt match her left thigh, giving the thigh swivel a really mismatched look.  As a result, my Power Girl looks like shes got a bow-leg.  Luckily I can hide it when posing her.  But its obvious enough that youll notice it if you look.  Some QC please, Mattel?

Dislike: That she has some blue paint marks on her thighs that I strongly believe rubbed off from her gloves during shipping.  After all,m I did get her loose. (And she flew halfway round the world to Singapore from the US.)  But those should come off with a little bit of alcohol.  If youre getting her in package, there should be no problem here.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Power Girl looks great, make no mistake about it.  From the sharply painted facial features to the details in the sculpt and the seamless hip joints. Theyve done a great job, especially with how plain PGs costume is.  Its just too bad her face isnt a nicely done as Wonder Womans or even Big Bardas.  Ya win some, ya lose some, I guess.

Poseability: 9/10 - PG shines here not because shes more poseable than the standard DCUC female, but because her legs look nice and seamless in poses.  With the new hip joints, she doesnt have weird joints cuts in her hips.  Also, with thinner limbs than the males, her joints are nice and tight so she can hold her poses without falling over.  Thats always good.  Oh and get this--shes got extra boot-top swivels. Nice.

The downside though is that she, like all of the new figures after Wave 8, have lost their ball-joint ability in their heads.  Pity, because a flying character like PG could use it.  It also doesn;t help that her ab crunch is partially blocked by the piece used to attach her cape to her back.

Fun: 9.5/10 - I think its always fun when you get a great female character in a male dominated line like DCUC.  Well, actually most action figures are male anyway.  Thats all the more reason to get the females right.  Its also great to have a character like Power Girl because shes not a main main character, but she is vital to lots of storylines.  Take Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, for instance.  They needed her, er...assets in order to persuade the 13 year-old Toyman to find a solution to the Kryptonite asteroid about-to-crash-into-Earth dilemma. Heh. ;P

Value: 8.5/10 - Great as she is, PGs a little shy in the value for money department because she doesnt come with any accessories.  What would come with PG, you ask?  Well thats a tough one.  Alternate hands? Since both of hers are fists...Removable cape?  That would be nice, but not absolutely necessary.  But since when did an accessory have to be necessary to be included? :)

Overall: 9/10 - Shes a highly sought after Walmart Exclusive, which makes her price high at the online stores and Ebay.  But do not fret, for shes slated to be released in a future wave as a "Worlds Greatest Hero" figure with a stand.  Get her then, cuz her price should be lower and theyll probably have worked out QC issues (hopefully.)  Shell also come with a stand! Woot! ;)