Access, the owner of PalmSource, which makes the Palm OS, has announced today that the Palm OS as we know it is dead. Palm OS 6 (a.k.a. Garnet) will no longer be developed, putting an end to the OS we have all grown to love. Access in their press release announced that they will be replacing the Palm OS with a new Linux based solution, dubbed the Access Linux Platform. It will run Palm OS 5 applications as well as applications written for the new Linux based platform.
Although it’s sad to see the Palm OS come to end, I think we all saw it coming. Ever since the split of Palm into two companies, PalmOne and PalmSource, the Palm platform has been all downhill. Once Palm failed to deliver a new modernized OS, and claimed Palm OS 5, a glorified version of Palm OS 4, as the new OS, in my mind that was when I knew something was wrong. The last few years of only minor point updates on OS 5, and the constant reminder that Palm OS 6 would be Palm’s savior, was only icing on the cake. It was bound to happen soon, and in way I’m kind of relieved it’s finally official.
I only hope now that Access will continue to raise the bar for the mobile OS platform. They can’t sit back and just make some minor tweaks on the Palm OS and throw an image of Tux into the OS. They need to start from square one, and capitalize where Palm failed. No one has mastered a mobile OS yet, so now it’s Access’ chance to do so.
5 Comments
Doh… they better still support my LifeDrive!
They will. My previous Palm device, a Sony Clie, was discontinued a month after I bought it. Even though Sony dropped support for all their Clie devices, Palm still supported it. Also, I don’t think applications will be an issue. Since the Access Linux Platform will still run Palm applications, developers will continue developing and supporting their applications for at least another year or two.
For a Microsoft product, Windows CE does a really good job with mobile applications. The pocket PC should really complete replace the palm soon. There are tons of great things you can do with windows CE and a pocket pc, the only real limitation is that most software is only written for the ARM processors, which are the most expensive, and I think is only in Compaq and Dell models. But if you have an ARM processor, the potentials of your mobile OS is near unlimited. The true advantage of the pocket PCs though is just the raw hardware power, which is, much greater then that of palms.
Necrobard,
I have to disagree. Only thing from what I seen of Palms and CE’s (at least models I seen a few years past) is the CE has superior graphics. Other than that, Palm has a far larger software library for it, and more active development community. I don’t own either product, but I know people that do.
I’m not really talking about just graphics, I’m talking about raw processing power. And a lot of the software that is available for PPC takes advantage of the greater processing power. Usenet is a great source for PPC apps, and there are tons out there. Jonathan, If some of the people you know are complaining about the lack of software, they probably don’t have an ARM processor. Like I said before most of the applications out there need it.
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