Palm's Linux OS not surfacing until 2008?

That sound you're hearing is the collective sigh from everyone patiently waiting for Palm to actually get its act together and unveil its depressingly overdue Linux mobile OS. Yet again, it seems we've been fooled into believing that Palm actually had its ducks in a proverbial row, as BrightHand is now reporting that Palm CEO Ed Colligan recently announced on a conference call that "products based on the new Linux-based platform won't be available until some time next year." Interestingly enough, Colligan also insinuated that the firm would "continue to use Windows Mobile and Garnet OS / Palm OS II for the foreseeable future." Wait, they can actually see some light at the end of this perpetually growing tunnel? We sure as hell can't.

[Zadillo @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:33AM]

Seriously Palm, get it together. I'm still using my Treo 650 for the time being, but you are falling behind on both the hardware front (seriously, how many variations on the Treo can you keep putting out) and the software front.

[booyaka @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:37AM]

The iPhone is better.

[Mitch R. @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:38AM]

What's "Palm"? I thought they died years ago...

[Mace Moneta @ Jul 2nd 2007 9:07AM]

"What's "Palm"? I thought they died years ago..."

That's exactly the post I came here to make. I bought Palms religiously up to the Tungsten C. Then the technology just passed them by. I thought Palm had ceased to exist. When I read that they were going to Linux, I thought they were returning from the dead. Now I see that's not the case. By the time they get their product to market, it will be a "me too", not the innovation that was Palm's reason for existing.

[Common Core 2 Duo!! @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:46AM]

Most importantly,

who won the iPhone?

[anon @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:56AM]

Does this mean Palm Foleo is going to be delayed? or does it mean that Foleo is going to be running some other OS instead? (God forbid that it should be WinMo or WinCE...)

[Elais @ Jul 2nd 2007 12:57AM]

please keep all posts iPhone related

[Natedog @ Jul 2nd 2007 1:47AM]

Not that many months ago, I was very pro-Palm. If I got something now, though, it would probably be a Pocket PC machine. Palm has just fallen too far behind lately, and I'm not interested in a Treo smartphone.

[mvn @ Jul 2nd 2007 2:19AM]

"Does this mean Palm Foleo is going to be delayed?....."

Does anyone care, this company is still living off the Handspring Treo design from several years ago. They even had to jump ship to Windows Mobile to survive this far....

[Erik_the_Red @ Jul 2nd 2007 3:18AM]

It's all part of Palm Inc.'s master strategy of giving us what we DON'T want (Foleo) in place of what we want (new OS, WiFi PalmOS Treo, replacable battery....). Brilliant.

I remember commenting a few months ago about Palm's complete inability to do software development and that they should just take what is currently available in GPL Linux for handhelds, add a Palm compatibility layer, and SHIP IT! At that time, there were a couple responses saying how everything would be different this time now that Jeff Hawkins and Colligan were on board.

Um, really?

Palm is truly screwed. I genuinely wanted to buy another Palm PDA, but I won't because:
1. I'm tired of waiting for them to make a worthy new PDA (Treo + LinuxOS + WiFi).
2. Their endless line of Treo 600 retreads have been surpassed by products from other companies.
3. This all seems to be due to plain corporate ineptitude, so I have no faith in their longevity as a company.

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 2nd 2007 5:56AM]

Palm has passed the point of relevance in the modern world.

Anyone bothering to wait for ANYTHING from Palm needs to seriously wake up.

Treo Shmeo, it wasn't even developed by them, and they don't know what to do with it to this day.

Palm only exists to squeeze a few more bucks out of (what can only be) bewildered stockholders until Rumpelstiltskin weaves a new golden parachute for the CEO.

[007baf @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:25AM]

You know, Palm could show they're an "ok" company and responsible corporation by making a move to a good platform, but somehow making it work on their PDAs, not just "Smart" phones. I am so upset about being abandoned after buying a LifeDrive last year only to see it relegated to "old" product and completely unsupported. It was like I burned up $400 (I'd be lucky to get $100 on e-bay for it). The bottom line: Palm cannot be trusted.

[mtt @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:50AM]

The Iphone will kill them.

I am a longtime Palms user, currently Treo 700P. I thought to myself, if the Treo merely was thinner, had a little better battery life, and got rid of the annoying lag & slowness, it would be a nearly perfect smartphone.

Then I tried an Iphone. The bar has been raised.

[Sean @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:55AM]

Any chance this linux OS could be an upgrade to existing Palm devices, or are we going to have to buy new palms to get linux?

[SjG @ Jul 2nd 2007 1:15PM]

The odds of any new OS being usable on old hardware is just around, oh, zero percent. Not (necessarily) for technical reasons, but because they are desperate to sell something that will make them money, e.g., force a new purchase for new features.

My 650 will likely be the last Palm device I own, which is sad, as I was once a big advocate of the platform (not to mention a developer on the platform).

[Dragon76 @ Jul 2nd 2007 3:26PM]

If Palm fails in the market, and all the iPhone users have their earbuds in and can't hear it, does anyone notice?

[Striker @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:28PM]

Palm Vx FTW!

[yoinkers @ Jul 3rd 2007 12:15AM]

my 700p will be my last palm device. it's a total piece of crap and I made the mistake of holding an iphone up to it today. the iphone is the same size as the treo without antenna only significantly smaller.

shame, I really liked palm for a while...

[AutomagV @ Jul 8th 2007 4:10AM]

What happened to BeOS? Does Palm still own it? If so, what they hell are they doing with it?