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13 Feb 2009
Palm has confirmed that it is dropping the PalmOS operating system to concentrate fully on the webOS currently being developed for the forthcoming Palm Pre.
Palm president Ed Colligan has told investors that PalmOS is being officially retired, and that the company's Centro platform will be the last to use the software.
"There will be no more PalmOS products," he said. "We will transition to webOS as our core operating system, in addition to supporting Microsoft Windows products in the enterprise segment of the market."
PalmOS was introduced in 1996 and proved an instant hit with consumers and business users. Palm eventually sold its software division to Access, and PalmOS became GarnetOS.
Colligan said that the company is now working to transition as many developers as possible to the new operating system. He is optimistic, since webOS uses standard XHTML, JavaScript and CSS applications, and developers will not need to learn new code.
Colligan was also dismissive of hints from Apple that it may sue Palm over the new Pre device, likening the situation to two porcupines circling each other but being careful not to get pricked.
"There are no issues with Apple over patents right now," he said. "We have built a very extensive patent portfolio in the mobile space. The reason you do that is to have a defensible position in the marketplace."
Meanwhile, more details about the forthcoming Palm Pre handset have been posted on Sprint's web site, which is selling the phone exclusively in the US.
The device will have about 7.4GB of user-available memory, stereo Bluetooth and multimedia messaging services.
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Do you agree?
Innovation is Better for Consumers
Clearly, people with negative comments only think about their own poorly thought out perspective. "WebOS uses standard XHTML, JavaScript and CSS applications, and developers will not need to learn new code." - must have missed that part. The Palm Pre reviews show, this could be the first phone that is just as amazing as the iPhone. That says a lot. I personally love the iPhone, but I'm also a loyal customer of Sprint. Someone may have stepped up to the plate for other loyal customers that have different carriers besides AT&T. The iPhone is exclusively for AT&T, what did you think, everyone would just bow down forever? Innovation brings change. Think of all the better cell phones to come now....iPhone2, Super Sidekick for T-Mobile, on and on, the possiblities would be endless. The consumers would be the winners and sales would go up in a poor economy. So to all the critics, I say to you, please think before you speak.
Posted by: Tony V 14 Feb 2009
If I wanted an iPhone I'd buy one
I have just bought a second Centro for backup as these will quickly become rare. I suggest that others who prefer the compact quick adaptable and easy to use PalmOS apps do the same. Did Ed mention how he expects the Palm developers, accustomed to C language development to "transition" to the bloatware authors he now needs?
Posted by: Dave Beck 13 Feb 2009
The death of Palm
There is a good article on the Palm situation on this guy's blog: http://amccright.blogspot.com/2009/01/palm-tells-current-customers-to-get.html
Posted by: Schuyler King 13 Feb 2009
PDA's
Palm OS is still the best *organizer* out there, snappy-quick, uncluttered, and free of eeeevil tie-in features you don't want. But it strains as a mobile networked OS, and is a pain to develop for so software updates come slowly, if ever. Those of us who have used it a long time have found ways to work around its shortcomings and that has become part of our work habits. We are comfortable with it and we are not swayed by the latest sexy toys: It's gadget monogamy. I will never buy a smartphone (I mentioned eeeevil already) but if Palm makes a PDA version of the Pre, I will give it a fair shake vis-a-vis the N810. But giving up my Palm TX will feel like a divorce.
Posted by: The Conductor 13 Feb 2009