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The PalmOS Mystery

Friday, October 7th, 2005 at 7:30 AM Category: Meryl's Notes Blog 2 comments

Since Palm has announced it will use Windows Mobile in an upcoming Treo, I’ve been trying to figure out what is going to happen to PalmOS. I’ve been having problems with my Tungsten, but I am not about to give up on PalmOS as I prefer it to Windows Mobile (I have a Dell Axim, which I use to write my PC Magazine column). I’d like to replace the Tungsten, but is Palm going to come out with a newer version of its OS? I am not impressed with the devices that have come out since buying the Tungsten T3.

But I can’t see where Palm is going for the long-term. I don’t want to buy another PalmOS device until I know something more. It has not been that long since I bought the Dell Axim and yet I can’t upgrade its OS to Windows Mobile 5 (only the x50 can be upgraded and I have x30). I don’t want that to happen when buying the next PalmOS device.

BusinessWeek (free registration required) believes Palm is not likely to dump its own OS. Computing Unplugged has a long article sharing the history and speculates the future. I vote PalmOS to stay. The OS is very different from Windows Mobile and replacing it is like replacing apples with oranges instead of Granny Smiths with Galas.

Tags: Palm, Tech

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2 comments

Posted by vanderwal on October 8th, 2005, 7:21 PM
It does not seem like Palm will be coming out with Cobalt. There may be a LINUX replacement. With the OS sold to the company in Asia, everybody is wondering much the same as you are. I only know a few people how are happy with their Windows-based PDAs and most I know with the smart phone curse it daily.

I just upped to the Treo 650 from the 600, but it is a rather poor phone as the ear piece is miserable. I use the in-ear piece and it works well, but I am not a fan of those or the bluetooth devices for social reasons. The 650 does no crash the OS when I am on the phone, which is a nice feature not to have. I finally got it syncing with my Entourage.

I love having the keyboard on my device, even if it is small. I do like the improved camera phone, but the interface in the 650 for the software is rather poor as I delete photos when I try to save them.

I am not sure what would be my next device, but I am looking longingly at the Nokia 770. I will most likely switch from my Sprint 650 to a Cingular 650 as I am traveling a bit to Europe this fall and GSM (what Cingular uses) works seamlessly there.
Posted by meryl / @merylkevans on October 9th, 2005, 1:36 PM
Thanks for an insightful post sharing your experience. I don’t care for Bluetooth. Whenever I look for a new wireless device, it should have wi-fi and surprisingly, some of the later Palm devices didn’t come with it — but came with Bluetooth.

My Pocket PC device that I use while writing my related column has both wi-fi and Bluetooth. I’ve used the wi-fi a few times… but never the Bluetooth as there are no other Bluetooth devices here.

I have a Sidekick II for staying in touch with my family (daughter and hubby have one, too, and use the cell phone plan in addition to the data. I only have the data plan) using instant messenger and email since my Palm doesn’t connect to the Internet unless I’m in a wireless area as it has a wi-fi card. Well, most of the time I am not in a wi-fi area or at least one that is free. The camera is awful, but it works like a charm for staying in touch by text. I looked at the Blackberry and Treo, but the Sidekick II best fit the need. Be nice to combine a Palm with the Sidekick, but it ain’t happening at this rate.