Palm hosting CES event, could be OS preview

Palm is inviting the media to a CES event.

(Credit: Palm)

Palm will look to put a rough year in the rearview mirror at CES with what could be a preview of its new operating system.

The company started sending out invitations Wednesday to an event at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas on the Thursday of CES week, promising a look at "all that Palm New-ness you've been waiting for." The most likely guest of honor at that event is Palm's next-generation "Nova" operating system, which has been delayed several times but is crucial to the company's chances of regaining a foothold in the mobile computing market.

Nova is based on Linux, and is expected to bring the Palm-branded operating system into the modern era of computing. You can trace the beginning of Palm's decline as a mobile computing innovator to the 2003 decision to separate into two companies, one that developed the operating system (Palmsource) and one that developed the hardware (Palm).

Palm wound up having to nurture the 2004-era Palm OS version into the present day after Palmsource and later Access never produced anything deemed useful; it still runs the Palm Centro. The company wisely hooked up with Microsoft to release Windows Mobile-based Treos, but has longed to once again design a complete product, hardware and software.

Nova is not expected to appear on devices until later in 2009, and few details have emerged as to what Palm has up its sleeve. The first week of January should give a sense of whether Palm has managed to make a real breakthrough in mobile computing, or merely caught up to the rest of the world.

[gerrrg]

I don't mean to insult Palm, but don't they have better things to do? It's been years since they've done anything in the way of OS, and now there's a whole bunch of options on the table for all sorts of devices.

How does Palm compete with Android when Android is cheaper and is open source?

I have a hard time believing that Palm would spend money to develop a new OS, really.

[Futurological]

?I have a hard time believing that Palm would spend money to develop a new OS, really.?

They?ve been doing exactly that for a good 6 years...

CVB

[forever4now]

Palm should stop wasting their time and resources on their own OS and just adopt Android. Android already has a support infrastructure, an app store to deliver value-added applications and an active developer community. If Palm does their own OS, they will have to replicate everything and they will likely have problems getting developers to support it, since they will have a much smaller market share.

Palm is capable of making some nice devices and, since Android is open source, they can tailor the software to be as "Palm-like" as they want.

[Tergon]

as one of the last living palm fanboys (or girls) I am hoping so much that this is true (it'll put me in line for a NOVA device at the beginning of 2010 when my new every two is up)

[AndrewRich]

Way, way, way to late. Does anybody still care about Palm?

[Wealthy_Industrialite]

Bingo, AndrewRich. Way too late. Pretty sad actually. Almost as sad as the thought of a ZunePhone, or Phune.

[m.afshari]

I think the Palm era is dead!! I was a fan and a developer! Now Apple is my main game!!

[rbanffy]

I only hope I can flash my Centro with the new OS ;-) Not that I don't like it - I pretty much love it, coming from a Nokia and Ericsson smartphone background, it's the first usable smartphone I have in years.

[roadlife]

I can get Android running on the Treo Pro but not on the Treo 800w. I don't understand with Android able to run on current hardware how Nova will do much at all for Palm or its buyers.

[kyle5434]

I've had several Palm devices since the original PalmPilot. I'm currently using a Treo 650 running the PalmOS, and it works just fine. I've got plenty of issues to worry about in my life - not having a "sexy" phone OS isn't one of them.

I wish the best for the folks at Palm, and hope they can make a comeback. After watching people ridicule Palm for the Foleo, then a few months later heap praise on the EeePC (which was essentially the same concept), I'd like to see Palm have some success.

[bobcode]

Centro was attractive for it's price, but it's UI was frustrating. They dropped Graffiti! I never bothered with Windows Mobile. When the iPhone came out, Palm really lost the price/performance ratio. Compare iPod touch to Palm TX.

Nova IS based on Linux (see article). However, they could have saved time by licensing a newer OS, than what they licensed for PalmOS. Android looks rough.

Feleo was email only. You can catch an Acer 15" laptop for $400 on discount, less than the Foleo, or many netbooks.

[artistjoh]

Had Palm brought out a better OS 2 years ago they might have had a chance to put a floor under their free fall and stabilize their position. With the new Blackberries, the iPhone, Android, and new Nokia they have run out of time. The only thing that can save them from a lingering death is something so revolutionary that it knocks the socks off the iPhone.There is nothing in their history over recent years to suggest they have the focus, the innovation expertise, or the pizzazz to be capable of anything remotely that exciting.

Maybe they will surprise us all, but realistically, if I owned Palm stock I would be selling as soon as possible.

[Urban Terrorist]

Let me get this straight - using Microsoft's mobile software was a good idea? What planet are you from? The only Palm phones that have ever sold well are those that had Palm's own software installed.