Palm says licensing webOS "not a religious issue"

Palm had its quarterly results conference call yesterday and although CEO Jon Rubinstein and CFO Doug Jeffries kept a pretty tight lid on the future product talk, they did say that licensing webOS to third parties isn't "a religious issue for us." That's pretty vague, sure, but we can't help but immediately think back to the golden age of Palm OS, when licensees like Sony put out amazing devices like the Clie PEG-NZ90 that we've lovingly mocked up with a webOS screenshot above -- we're sure Palm's upcoming handsets will be interesting in their own right, but we'd love to see a manufacturer like HTC riff on webOS the way it's tweaking Android. Of course, Jeffries also said Palm has "no plans at this time to even talk about" licensing, so this is all just a pipe dream for now, but let's not ruin the moment, okay? Hit the read link for the full call transcript.

[Via GearLog]

[Victor @ Jun 26th 2009 12:28PM]

PEG-NZ90 + WebOS would be all kinds of win

[TRLK @ Jun 26th 2009 12:34PM]

Considering that the NZ-90 only had a meager ARM 200MHz CPU, I think it would be an epic fail

Having said that, I really hope that Sony ditches Symbian and go for webOS

Clie FTW!

[Ypoknons @ Jun 26th 2009 12:40PM]

Oh the nostalgia! Engadget remembers!

Actually, they should totally look at the PEG-NZ90 form factor again. the components should be much cheaper now, and adding modern internals, a 3G chip, WebOS and a capacitive touchscreen would be great. The world needs a big, keyboard endowed, swiveling screen smartphone more than it ever did before. =)

[barry99705 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:11PM]

It was an awesome palm device.

[Dan S. @ Jun 26th 2009 2:21PM]

Anyone want to buy an NZ-90?

[marc @ Jun 26th 2009 3:26PM]

i've been wishing someone would come up with a clie or HTC universal type device for years...to the sound of crickets. Why is it that a slightly bulkier (but more powerful) package has become equivalent with world ending desstruction in today's world of small slickness? my wish list for this format: WIMAX or LTE with 3G backup, ion or atom, sidways keyboard, 4 or 5 inch wide screen, windows 7 and windows 7 mobile dual boot...ok, i'll wakeup sometime.

[Kieth Vienn @ Jun 26th 2009 8:44PM]

I will buy urs anyday. put that sucker on ebay man

[naz @ Jun 26th 2009 12:29PM]

i remember when i really wanted a sony clie

[Dustin Leiblein @ Jun 26th 2009 12:31PM]

Geek Nostalgia FTW! Thanks for bringing me back Engadget!

I can't believe how big it was.

[Phrank @ Jun 26th 2009 3:14PM]

Mr. Leiblein, I hereby serve you with a cease-and-desist, for clear, willful and knowing use of my client's, the party hereafter referred to as "SHE", intellectual property. Continue to say what SHE said and I will have no choice but to take legal action.

[AndrewNoNumbers @ Jun 26th 2009 12:34PM]

I still like Clies, they had awfully good screens for their time.

[KIFF @ Jun 26th 2009 12:40PM]

And still do for this time, especially that last model with the OLED screen.

[lmwong7 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:45PM]

Wow, just googled the VZ90 Clie (last with the OLED screen). Came out in 2004. You can really see where the UX UMPCs and the current PSP Go heritage in that Clie

[Galactor963 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:34PM]

Haha, I resurrected my Clie last week. I didn't manage to pick up that one, but the lower end models were still nice.

[iDavey @ Jun 26th 2009 12:35PM]

If they do...it's another hit against Apple.

-runs back to fanboy war of 09-

[xcrunk @ Jun 26th 2009 12:54PM]

This comment, coming from former Apple employees, is a total shot at Apple...

Sweet....keep up the pressure Palm. Nice.

[iDavey @ Jun 26th 2009 1:03PM]

And learning from history...
Where the former CEO of Apple denied going widespread with the OS when they were starting off...
I'd think it'd be smart to learn from others mistakes and get to it.

Windows got to 90% market share for a reason, lol.

[Jay Voorhees @ Jun 26th 2009 12:35PM]

licensing is where the money is.

[KG @ Jun 26th 2009 12:56PM]

I guess WebOs isn't Muslim???

[Ameen @ Jun 26th 2009 2:03PM]

I have to disagree with you on this one. Cause, we Muslims do "license" the religion. And its more like Linux, you can take it, if not you can call us stubborn and useless & all the names you can come up with.

[Ben Roethig @ Jun 26th 2009 12:39PM]

I think the comment was pretty clearly a swipe against Apple.

[Matt @ Jun 26th 2009 12:40PM]

I miss the clie line, the fancy clamshell ones were released right after I bought the N760c, made me furious.
I still want them.

[Andrew @ Jun 26th 2009 12:42PM]

How many hours did I spend playing Drug Wars on my Clie during my 1st year of university? The answer is far, far too many.

At the mere thought of WebOS on a Clie, my Pre somehow seems tarnished and inadequate.

[rv @ Jun 26th 2009 3:10PM]

I got my pre yesterday and am loving it. This phone is amazing. My last smartphone was an old school winmo back in 04. The coolest thing for me is the 3g speed though. I became accustomed to horrible web speeds.

[keithlargo @ Jun 26th 2009 12:47PM]

God kill me for saying this but I think web os would be awesome on a device like the iphone. I love the look of the iphone... Just not the os. Ha

Itlll only happen when hell freezes over and when tupac releases a new cd...

Okay that was unnecessary but it was funny.

[rells009 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:01PM]

Dude! Where have you been? Tupac released a new CD every few years ever since he went to Jamaica.

[keithlargo @ Jun 26th 2009 1:23PM]

was the cd called "alive and well"


=D took that from an episode of diggnation

[CtrlBurn @ Jun 26th 2009 2:31PM]

"I love the look of the iphone... Just not the os."
That's how I feel about every Apple product I've dealt with. The hardware is absolute top notch, the design is great, but the software is way too restrictive for my tastes.

[rykuhein @ Jun 26th 2009 12:48PM]

The last that I remember, most of the compontants to the WebOS have been GPL'd.... it would not take much to take what they have and make something on top of that.

[To: Hell @ Jun 26th 2009 12:48PM]

Aw isn't that cute, the Clié thinks he's people!

[Ypoknons @ Jun 26th 2009 12:56PM]

The wonderful Clies aside, licensing is a big issue for Palm down the road. The smartphone market will be huge in a few days if things continue at the current rate, and more the more successful platforms will have more users so that application developers and other network effects. I doubt Palm can go at it alone for long if they want to be a winner in the industry this time around.

[Oliver @ Jun 26th 2009 1:01PM]

I remember my Clie NX80 was the first device that I got that could record video (even if it was only 160 pixels wide) and could install 3rd party apps... those were the days

[Peter Horner @ Jun 26th 2009 1:18PM]

I pulled my NZ90 out of the back of my draw the other day, but I'm still hunting for the charger. It was a great device and really innovative at the time.

[Mark @ Jun 26th 2009 1:15PM]

I saw that picture and my heart skipped a beat. Having owned just about every Clie made, I only wish something modern would be released from Sony. Talk about a device ahead of its time. The only thing it was missing was a phone!

[simon @ Jun 26th 2009 1:19PM]

For that they had the P910 (nobody wants to remember the P990)

[Mark @ Jun 26th 2009 1:24PM]

Yeah, just without the Palm OS. I still use a Palm today because I can't give up DateBk. Talk about the best PIM ever made for a handheld device. I know the developer said he's looking into making it for other platforms, but there's been no update for a long time.

[Spiny Norman @ Jun 26th 2009 2:40PM]

I hear you, Mark. I'm still using my DateBk Palm TX because there's no decent PIM support on the current crop of so-called "smart" phones.

I was checking out the iPhone, but there's no support for an alarm on a ToDo, and none of the 3rd party apps can access the notification mechanism. One product fakes a alarm by generating an SMS or email. Yea, that'll work, especially in the subway without phone service.

Even the Pre has crappy PIM support.

[sbswigart @ Jun 26th 2009 1:29PM]

How is the the new Palm OS even legal? Shouldn't they be paying licensing fees to Apple anyways? I read the article posted earlier this year and it's still obvious that Palm is ripping off Apple. Why has none of the press talked about this blatant fact. This would suck for Apple if Palm became the new Microsoft.

I don't respect companies whom steal IP in such blatant ways...lame Palm.

[CL @ Jun 26th 2009 1:37PM]

If Palm "ripped Apple" off, why wouldn't Apple's world famous army of angry lawyers sue them back to the stone age?

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2009 1:39PM]

An idea is worthless unless it is used. The more an idea is used, the more valuable it is. One cannot own an idea.

I don't respect companies who suffer from NIH syndrome.

[Robert @ Jun 26th 2009 1:47PM]

Let me fix that for you:

I don't respect companies whom steal IP in such blatant ways...lame Apple.

...

My understanding is that Palm and Apple both have patents that each other are infringing on. Sort of a patent cold war so to speak - neither side gains much from launching a legal attack.

Remember Palm has been at the handheld/smartphone market much longer than Apple.

[reaperttii @ Jun 26th 2009 1:31PM]

I still have my NZ90 and use it most every day. I wish the wireless card would come down in price, than I might use it more.

[Kieth Vienn @ Jun 26th 2009 8:44PM]

OMG there IS another person out there with my feelings.!

[Logan Five @ Jun 26th 2009 2:07PM]

I used to have a CLIE NR-70 PDA and at the time thought the form factor represented a good potential for a phone device, particularly the rotating camera which would have been idea for video chatting.

Unfortunately, the problem with the Pre isn't the WebOS but the reputation of Palm that has failed to deliver a worthy OS upgrade in over half a decade. It's too bad- I had great confidence in Palm since acquiring a US Robotics Pilot 5000 in 1997. But the company failed to properly develop the potential of the OS and that led it to the problems it faced (along with Hawkings leaving for Handspring and then returning, the division of Palm into hardware and software divisions, etc...).

In a few years, should Palm be able to solidify what the potential of the Pre brings to the market I may reconsider. But for now I'll stick with my iPhone and Apple, that did what Palm and Microsoft should have done, and watch Palm carefully and hopefully.

[yomama84 @ Jun 26th 2009 2:12PM]

ZOMGWTFLOLBBQ!!!

I remember the Clie, i still have my NX80, with the Wifi Card, bluetooth card and a case. Beautiful screen and the site cliesource.com

I miss those days.

[jtupeck @ Jun 26th 2009 3:20PM]

I have owned 3 CLIEs in my time. The first one - the PEG 120, the second, the PEG 160 and then and NZ90. I can honestly say that every one of them was an amazing unit for its time but the NZ90 with the swivel/color screen was hands down my fav. To have WebOS on some hardware like that in an updated fashion = GOLD.

[JD @ Jun 26th 2009 3:22PM]

The real reason... no one would pay a dime to license it. Android is free, and superior.

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 26th 2009 5:00PM]

I think that would be a bad move for Palm as the OS is the most interesting feature, not the hardware they develop. If WebOS becomes popular, they would probably make far more keeping it close and selling devices than making $5 a phone licensing it out.

That is, unless Android gets really popular, then they may need to license it out very cheaply to keep the platform interesting...

[gerrrg @ Jun 26th 2009 6:14PM]

What they're saying is, if Palm were to start to fail, they would consider licensing to others to save their butts.

[Kieth Vienn @ Jun 26th 2009 8:44PM]

OMG someone does realize that this device existed and was PRIM-O supreme at one point. i used to love my NZ.....!!!