A reason why Palm OS MIGHT NOT die? There may be more than one. 1. Palm OS has, in the past, been dominant in mobile devices that are not necessarily classified or perceived as handheld computers and that are not as powerful as the quite powerful handheld computer designated devices of today. 2. Palm developed a large following of avid users during its hay day among PDA fans. 3. By introducing Linux and development for Linus, the appeal to developers relative to their "comfort zone" can only increase, particularly if the new OS will still run Garnet apps.
The great weak spot: Palm OS may have increasing difficulty with Windows competition on more powerful devices in terms of persuading people that Palm OS is a good thing. (This may not affect the pda-enabled world of cell phones as quickly, which may be why Palm OS was purchased by its present owners, associated with a country that is a major cell phone manufacturer.) Windows has the hearts and minds of the average business computer user and most home users. Handheld device users associate the Palm name with a device from the past that won a lot of market share. This Palm OS capable label may be seen today as a good thing only in light of it serving as an indicator that a device is PDA enabled. (Would "Palm OS (device)!" mean the same as "Windows CE (device)!" if put on a sticker on cellular telephone packaging to a prospective buyer today? Will it have the same cache' tomorrow if associated with a powerful handheld device?) Getting users to recognize that Palm OS is also a graphically based OS with point and click functionality may be a significant problem in terms of user appeal for new buyers aware of a handheld version of Windows as the major competition. Making them recognize that Palm OS doesn't mean that their handheld computer will never be anything more than another PDA is another area where Palm OS seems to be fighting an uphill battle for new, business users, given Palm OS' strong association with the Palm handheld, and its name based perception among many as an OS that is used by PDAs. It seems to me that Palm OS could use some programmers capable of producing some knockout software that would (or could) be loaded with its operating system that is both patentable (like the blackberry's e-mail download capability) and likely to catch consumers' eyes by filling a real need. (Lots of games written in an OS are nice for some, but no "business" user is going to tell the boss that they need a new Palm OS capable phone to get the latest version of their favorite game. In fact, many business user's won't even tell their spouse that on a weekend shopping trip!) Business people began using Windows because it let them do things in a manner that they perceived as "easier" and with less training per new software program given the common, graphical, icon based interface. If users are not limited by the cost of the more powerful handheld devices, there is no reason to prefer an operating system that is better suited to slow CPUs (among the group that purchases more expensive devices targeted to function as handheld computers, rather than merely PDA capable devices). Competing with Windows in the past was a matter of being more successful with devices with slower CPUs and limited capabilities that were easily classified merely as "PDAs", and not handheld computers. The advent of wireless communications created the need for more powerful handhelds to function not merely as a "tentacle" connected to one person's desktop, but as a conduit for files to many desktops. That is enough in itself to kill Palm OS in the world of handheld PCs. If switching to Linux gives Palm access to the "open source" world in a true sense, then it may find itself preferred by those not willing to make a big switch to Windows on their office desktop, in a networked, Windows business world, or on their home PCs, where being able to permit a family member to play a favorite computer game is an issue, but who are willing to consider Linux as a reasonable alternative in the world of powerful handhelds, particularly if they are normally expected to pay for their own PDA, and are looking for value in terms of the software that is available and fully compatible with their Windows desktop, in terms of transferring data. It would seem that persuading Linux open source developers to target the Palm OS and create some knock-out applications is the real key to Palm OS' future. It's the applications, and not another Windows-like OS, that can win the day for Palm OS. (Windows isn't merely Windows-like, and it has more name appeal to new users.) Major bugs in new, handheld applications that make the files they produce incompatible with Windows Office software on a desktop could be a killer in such a world. Bug free apps. capable of loading and saving Office files in Office format might overcome this, but the biggest issue may still be whether a user can seamlessly use a Microsoft Office spreadsheet, document, or database on their new handheld. Having to repeatedly "export" to a non-native file format to save Office documents might be just enough to kill a Linux based OS for most business people, however impractical use of Office software on a handheld may be perceived by some. A little, easily found option to save and load files from Linux based Office-like software in Windows format on a permanent basis on a handheld, and no warnings that this non-native file type may cause loss of fomatting, might get beyond this for users in the world of powerful handhelds who want to send files wirelessly as e-mail attachments in Office format without getting responses that the recipient can not open the attachment and chose to use another vendor's product because they couldn't access the quotation. Palm OS became successful driving a "data tentacle" to one PC. In the future, it has to be able to drive a data conduit to anyone's PC anywhere via the internet or wireless network, and those PCs will be running Windows and using Windows applications. In the real world, it is probably just that simple. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Church" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Palm Developer Forum" <palm-dev-forum@news.palmos.com> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 7:51 PM Subject: Re: Is Palm OS Going Away? > Different perspective: > The issue should not be anything other that the user experience and > efficiency. For users with vast Windows usage (i.e., the professional > person), a PPC makes perfect sense because it mimics his desktop, right down > to oddities and fragility. But there is a vast number of workers with > little or no Windows exposure, and for them a Palm OS-based solution can be > easier to learn and lower in TCO over time. Our experience (and we write in > both areas) is that is much easier to keep the user focused and out of > trouble in a Palm. > > Corporation don't like this. Why? Because the people that make the > decisions are more familiar with Windows than the Palm OS. They think the > system is more "open" than the Palm OS, when what they should be worried > about is resource usage (CPU cycles and storage) and reliability. The IT > folks forget that they are a service component of the organization, and > drive things that stay within their comfort zone. That's also just a dose > of basic human nature. So the poor schmuck in the field has to learn the > new device he was issued and ordered to use. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ingbert Grimpe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Palm Developer Forum" <palm-dev-forum@news.palmos.com> > Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 6:28 PM > Subject: Re: Is Palm OS Going Away? > > > > Just my two cents (and playing advocatus diaboli a bit): > > > > I'm really not a very good programmer. I'm using Appforge and the only > > reason to dig deeper into PalmOS was the need to add some stuff that is > > not supported by AF. For the same reason I needed to check into Windows > > Mobile (or PocketPC or whatever MS's marketing machine wants to call it > > now). > > > > My feeling: PalmOS is really the superior OS for devices with limited > > resources (read: CPU and RAM). Even for a novice it's easy to see that > > PalmOS was developed for small devices with options to 'grow'. > > WinCE/Mobile/whatever clearly was something that was originally made for > > 'real' computers and later reduced to allow it to run on small machines. > > > > But that's history. > > > > Today we are seeing CPUs with > 600 MHz clock and RAM > 256 MB. That's > > desktop power from less then 7 years ago. And (if we are honest) a > > desktop PC with that parameters would really be sufficient for most > > users' normal requirements (write email, letters and surf I-Net). > > > > Why did people buy Win PDAs even when they really sucked? Bc it was > > Windows! > > Why should people buy a PDA with 'not-Windows-OS'? They will not. Esp > > not, when the device is performant enough for everyday use (see above > > and add MP3 playing and GPS navigation). > > > > PalmOS is dead in the long run. There's MS outside and there's Symbian > > outside. Linux is really cool and obviously a mature OS for professional > > use, still it has not conquered the desktop of Joe Average. Same for > > mobile devices for the masses. > > > > Palm is a company that needs to make money. Give me a reason why they > > should not choose Windows? And hey, don't forget: Apple now has 'Intel > > Inside' ... > > > > > > -- > > For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to > > unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/ > > > > > > -- > For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/ > -- For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
