Palm testing a new OS?
posted Aug 4th 2005 1:00PM
BargainPDA is pretty quick to disclaim this as a "completely unsubstantiated rumor", but supposedly Palm, Inc. is
getting close to sending some developers beta-testing units of a new Palm handheld that'll be running on a new
operating system that isn't Palm OS 5. The only problem? Their source doesn't seem to know what new OS that might be,
but assuming this is actually reliable info there are really only three options:
Palm OS Cobalt, the new
Linux-based version of the Palm
OS, and Windows
Mobile.
True or not, the whole situation points to the OS dilemma Palm finds itself in. They can't stick with Palm OS 5
(Garnet) forever, at least not if they want to stay competitive, since Garnet is definitely starting to show its age.
For whatever reason, Palm OS 6 (Cobalt) has never really floated their boat, and there has been a fair amount of
speculation that they might not wait around for PalmSource to port the Palm OS to Linux, and instead switch to Windows
Mobile (there are more than a few people who'd love to see a
Windows Mobile-powered
Treo). Sooner or later Palm is going to have to bite the bullet, whether it's resurrecting Cobalt (which seems
unlikely), moving to Windows Mobile, or somehow getting PalmSource to hyperspeed development of the new Linux
OS.
There is another possibility, though I don't know how probable it is.
Jeff Hawkins's Redwood Neuroscience Institute is making an OS based on their research into human intelligence. See this interview http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2005/08/01/focus6.html?page=5
From the interview:
"Our products are a set of tools that allow you to configure these memory systems, which we call HTM, hierarchical temporal memory. You can interface them with a thing like a camera or a microphone or sonar and it learns about its environment in the same way you learned about your environment when you were a child. It can model the environment, recognize things in it and make predictions about the future.
What we're building is actually a platform. It's like a new type of operating system. It's a platform on which people can use our tools to create new applications for solving different types of problems. "
Combine that with this statement from his interview...
"There is a third business that I've been working on but I'm not going to tell you what it is. It's in mobile computing. It's something different and it's in its early stage. We have three businesses at PalmOne. One you don't even know about, which is just a child. Another is the teenager and the other one is the mature 45-year-old."
Could this mean he's building a new OS and Palm platform using the fruits of NRI's research? The way he talks about their accomplishments at NRI, it sounds like he thinks they've made some breakthrough(s) in artificial intelligence and they are already building a business around it.
Knowing Jeff Hawkins's passion for PDAs and artificial intelligence, it wouldn't suprise me if he's working on combining the two.
I'm just throwing it out there...
I would bet that it's a rough-cut version of something based on Linux. What I saw at the PalmSource developer's conference was pretty far along...it wouldn't surprise me for some kind of test-mule mockup to be put in the hands of some alpha/beta testers by now.
Windows=Bad in Every Form.
No.
Please, God, Gods, Higher-Powers. No.
PALM listen to me. PLEASE GO TO LINUX. NOT TO WINDOWS. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.
The Palm OS is the ONLY thing holding anyone to Palm. If they drop it, they're dead, period.
Agree with #'s 3 & 4 wholeheartedly. If they go to Windows for the next Treo, my next phone puchase is P910 or Blackberry.
Curious minds would like to know whatever happened to Palm's purchase of BeOS. Did they disect that into Cobalt or is it sitting in the storage closet at Palm's headquarters?
Some rumormongers are talking BeOS.
Agreed. I use Palm because I don't like Windows Mobile *at all*. If Windows Mobile is suddenly all that's available on either platform, I'll be looking for some other PDA product to fill my non-Windows need.
Some rumormongers are talking BeOS.
The Kaptain concurs. If Palm were to switch to Windows Mobile he would despair. He loves the simplicity of Palm OS, he wants a fast, efficient handleheld OS that is stable and with a small CPU and memory footprint.
I have a Treo650... the palm os is a piece of junk. I'd love to see a WindowsMobile version with the Treo form factor.
Fourth option: Symbian -- Unlikely but much more likely than a Linux based OS so early. Also, it would be completely idiotic of Palm NOT to offer a Windows-based Treo. Here's why: They could sell two versions of the phone, thus catering to those who like Windows and those, like me (a diehard Mac user), who hate Windows. There is no reason why they shouldn't just release every new Treo on both OS's.
I'd love to see a Windows Mobile version. I could care less for a linux version.
I vote Windows Mobile!
Unlike everyone else, it's not about M$ for me.
For me it's all abour Exchange! :)
windows mobile is garbage for anything but exchange - like, say, using the phone part.
dont care what they do, just please no windows. we should start a paypal pool for this..itd be more interesting than, um, a sand sculpture contest..
LET APPLE MAKE THE OS!!!! HOO RAH!!!
It would be idiotic for Palm to offer Windows Mobile version. It would spell the end of the Palm OS. It would be the end of the company. They will never be the low cost WM provider and would eventually get knocked out of that market. Other people would assume that Palm OS is dead once they make a WM verison and it would therefore die. These kinds of rumors have been around for awhile. In 1997, Gartner predicted that Micrososft would own more than 50% of the market by 1998. Palm has actually been one of the best performing companies against MS.
Palm needs to offer a Blackberry application for the Treo and WM would die as the competition would simply be between RIM and Palm.
"WM would die as the competition would simply be between RIM and Palm"
HA HA HA!!!
You crack me up! Good one!
Mike (#15)-
Your company may not support this yet, but I know a lot of big companies that do. There is now an option to blackberry and RIM altogether. A company called GoodLink (it may have been reviewed here, I did a quick search and couldn't find a link) now offers a program that allows instant over the air link between pc and handheld. It's basically a full verson of outlook on your phone that keeps itself constantly updated. The best part is that it runs on any PalmOS (treo 600, 650 i know for sure) and and phone running windows moble 2003 for pocket pc's and smartphones. Prety cool, but i digress...
I don't really have a preference as to what the software is based on, as long as it keeps the ease of use and gets a well deserved visual upgrade. If they do that, they'll get my money.
it will be WM5, i personally spoke with a representative at palm several weeks ago that was attempting to setup their treo 670 running WM5 on our network and was having trouble with it...
#16: considering PalmSource and Palm are separate companies it wont spell the end of the hardware company... not by a long shot.
as for wireless push email, several companies like to offer what is called "wireless sync" and it does exactly what RIM's email push technology does.
what alot of you dont realize is that microsoft already has a wireless sync style application...
it's called activesync, which can be configured to sync remotely, it just requires that the handheld user has purchased an addressable IP from their carrier for it to work.
for all of your anti-MS sentiments, none of you seem very well educated on Palm/PalmSource or Windows Mobile...
Why do engadget keep reprinting TreoCentral rumors?! They are from the same poster even. Stop that! If you don't have any insider information, don't print it.
As for the OS, don't you think Palm would have come out and said it if it's WM5? If they are being so secretly, the only thing that make sense is that they are using an unproven foundation, which I guess is going to be the LinuxOS for the next Tungsten and cobalt for the next Treo.
Well if they can make the EVDOwifi handoff transition working smoothly, then I will buy it even if it's an evil WM5. Yeah I am a windows h8ter. o_O
Palm switching to windows mobile, would be like apple switching to x86 processors.
oh wait... :)
On second thought, screw windows fanbois!
We should totally put up a paypal pool together. We shall pervail! ;)
Apple switching from PPC to intel; Apple still has
complete control of the hardware and software. Palm switching to WM, it will totally lost the control of the software. It will hold zero advantage
over the build-to-order boxes HTC make. Palm switching to windows would be like Sega giving up its own console hardware.
Yeah Sega have been in a downward slide ever since.
Palm OS Cobalt 6.x is not, the new PalmSource OS Linux for New Palm SDK.
Palm, Inc. will have new Palm OS and device but it is not linux. It is the salvage Palm OS Cobalt which PalmSource and PalmOne was working.
Don't ya love zealot morons? The year is 2035 and Palm has released OS 5.849 Its as crappy as Palm 5.0 was but the morons of the world who don't look at MS's wares because they are blind fools think its the next best thing to a nice warm squat. Never mind that it still doesn't have a real file system and does slight of hand for multitasking. That doesn't matter because it isn't windows. You people make me sick. POS doesn't just stand for Palm OS. Its a flaming pile of dog crap.
Wake me when Palm actually gets around to really updating the OS. Everything they have done to the OS since version 1.0 has been a hack job. The core OS is sill the limited POS it always was. Just with a nice coat of paint to hide the barf green exterior. I owned a Palm 5000, Palm III, Palm V, and got to play around with a T3 for about two weeks after a friend upgraded to a Treo. There was a reason I went to the Pocket PC and its simple: I outgrew Palm. If Palm had been smart they would have grown the Palm OS back in 2001 when competition from the PPC started really taking off. But they sat back and made wise ass comments at places like CES. I still remember reading about the roundtable at CES where Palm's CEO said users don't want sound and color to a nice big audience. Right. They were screwed up then. They still are. Again wake me when Palm gets their head out of their crack and releases something worthy of running on the hardware they are putting out right now.
In the mean time anyone up for playing CEO of the year. Anyone care to guess how long this one will last? Ive got a running bet with a couple friends. Im thinking March 2007. How can anyone take that company serious when they cant even hold down a leader for more then a year to a year and a half? Im dead serious. Someone needs to buy out both Palms and get their house in order. Apple? Sony? Anyone?
They will be testing OSs till they die. They have totally missmenaged this firm and will continue to do so. Maybe Linux as OS could still turn things around but not another palm OS Version.
My firstthought was the BeOS when I read this. Wasn't the aim of Palm buying BeOS a few years back to use all the code. The purpose for buying the sinking ship was hardly to take away any competition. I reckon BeOS woul be great on mobile, simply because it is so fast and neat, well coded, origionally by MacOS creators. Best of both worlds. It will always fly.
My firstthought was the BeOS when I read this. Wasn't the aim of Palm buying BeOS a few years back to use all the code. The purpose for buying the sinking ship was hardly to take away any competition. I reckon BeOS woul be great on mobile, simply because it is so fast and neat, well coded, origionally by MacOS creators. Best of both worlds. It will always fly.
I was a Palm user since about 1996 or so - Palm 5000 was my first unit. With the exception of a brief foray to PPC 2000 a few years back, I have been an ardent PalmOS user right through to the LifeDrive. A device I was pretty excited about, personally.
The LifeDrive was a good piece of hardware, but having an old OS with several years of hacks to get it to do new stuff it was not designed for got too much for me. I didn't want to lug around and rely on a device that I would have to reset 2-3 times per day.
I decided that it was time for me to go with a converged device, and integrated WiFi was not optional for me. Point 1 against the Treo.
I also think that its clear that Palm has to do something for a new OS - that can't keep hacking Garnet. I don't believe Linux is a short term solution, so WM5 is the most likely candidate. So I made the call to move across now, to an O2 XDA IIi.
So far very happy. Sometimes the OS is a little slow, but the phone function works well, the WiFI just works (unlike every Palm device) and the PIM is good. Windows Mobile 2003 is a big step forward than my earlier foray. By all accounts WM5 will be even better.
So, Palm enthusiasts, this should be good news. Anything to give the hardware an OS that can drive is stably will save the Palm HW brand.
Lets hope that WiFi is a standard feature on all topend devices henceforth.
There is a reason I have palm. NO WINDOWS! I have never had the OS work for me right. Linux and Apple are fine. I hope they stay away from windows. An Apple based palm. hmmmm.
Screw Linux; I want BeOS on my next PDA!
I think that it's Apple according to this image ...
http://www.churchoflivingfaith.com/images/ipalm.jpg
... just what Apple needs to continue their run and Palm to avoid disaster. :-)
BTW, Palm doesn;t own BeOS. Palmsource has most of those folks now ... and in apparent confusion I might add.
Boring news!
I left Palm as soon as the iPaq was released. Palm just doesn't compare and never will(my opinion yes and would love them to prove me wrong). Even if they come out with something brilliant, they will still be 3 years behind. However, they could put on Windows mobile and put a ?GB drive on it like their latest handheld (oh and with the new VGA screen) and then and ONLY THEN will they have something that will make me look at that rediculous company that can't figure out their head from their ass! Of course, since Dell is supposedly releasing something of this calibre this fall, they will have to hurry but then as I said, they will be behind the times. Just another reason why they are constantly losing marketshare.