vB Easy Archive - Future of PalmOS as a Smartphone platform ?

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Future of PalmOS as a Smartphone platform ?
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Posted by: monkeyboy

While arguably the Treo 600 and now 650 remain the top dog among smartphones, the overall health and future of PalmOS as a smartphone platform seems less rosy. It was particularly disappointing to learn of the probably and ultimate demise of the Samsung I550, a phone that many of us were eagerly waiting for. That, along with the previous incarnations from Samsung: the I505 and I530, PalmOS flip phones that never made it to market, and reports of a slowdown or shutdown of Samsung's PalmOS efforts, really should make fans of PalmOS smartphones worried. And nothing terribly promising from the Kyocera folks, either.

So where exactly is PalmOS in the smartphone world ? And why can't they seem to keep Samsung and Kyocera on their "side". Does PalmSource not value getting design wins from companies other than PalmOne ? Apparently not. MS Smartphone and PPC are constantly winning new designs, while PalmOS is being abandoned. I can't believe its because PalmOS is, overall, technically inferior, at least at this stage, though it really seems to develop and improve at a snail's pace. At one time not so long ago it was really the only game in town. Therefore the blame has to rest, at least in large part on PalmSource's poor support and lack of aggressiveness in courting and keeping OEMs and companies like Samsung and Kyocera (not to mention Sony).

I wrote a similar diatribe a year ago when it became clear that Kyocera was not eager to develop a successor to the 7135. A year later, my concerns voiced then have proven true. Not sure why Palm.* has such a death wish, but it seems to be playing its part in its own marginalization, which is very sad and disappointing...

Posted by: TimmyDee

I used to feel exactly as you have, but after reading some articles and posts on Cobalt (with replies by PalmSource's CCO and Application's Lead), I've begun to think otherwise. It sounds like PalmSource has been having difficulty getting new companies on board because Garnett is difficult to customize and it may be having difficulty getting new licensees because there are no Cobalt devices out there. Sounds like a vicious cycle, but I think they can break out of it.

palmOne is probably going to stick with Garnett for a while because a lot of their customizations will take some work to port to Cobalt. That said, I'm sure they're working on it. Also, Cobalt sounds very attractive to potential licensees because it gives a lot of things for free that took some work in Garnett (telephony, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.). With Cobalt finally mature, I'd look to see more devices using Palm OS in the coming year or two.