PalmSource, the Palm spin-off responsible for developing Palm's operating system (OS), has signed a deal with Orange that will see the mobile operator developing Palm-powered smartphones.

Under the terms of the global partnership Orange will join Palm's development programme, the Palm Powered Mobile World, which was set up to provide hardware manufacturers and service providers with software support and extend the reach of Palm-powered smartphones.

The deal will include joint marketing efforts to identify suitable Palm OS applications for Orange's customer base and help with distribution of these offerings to Orange customers.

Richard Hanscott, vice president of business development and partnerships for the Orange Group, pointed to Orange's success with the Palm OS-based Treo 600 as an example of how the two firms could work together.

"We look forward to leveraging PalmSource's strength in key market segments to enhance our smartphones with the widest offerings of Palm OS applications that meet the needs of our customers," he said in a statement.

The move strengthens PalmSource's position at a time when it is facing increased competition from Microsoft and the Nokia-led Symbian consortium.