Palm Announces New Linux Based Mobile Platform

Treo-maker Palm's CEO Ed Colligan officially announced that it will deliver a new Linux and open source based mobile computing platform combined with Palm OS Garnet technology on new products later this year.

Colligan said that the company has been working on this new OS for several years and it has no plans to license it out to other handset makers. Palm still plans to use Garnet OS (Palm OS) and Windows Mobile in its Treo line of phones, but it plans to use its right to the Garnet OS (Palm OS) source code to evolve the current Palm OS into the just announced Linux-based one, which is also rumored to make use of Opera's mobile browser.

Colligan highlighted and stressed a few points about the new platform. He continually stressed the importance of the user experience citing the ability to have an instant on, highly portable device with great battery life. Other highlights included greater hardware flexibility and the ability to handle simultaneous voice and data, two key ares which have hampered the traditional Palm OS in recent years.

The Analyst presentation concluded without any technical or developer details revealed about the new Linux based platform. Many questions remain to be answered as to what the official name will be, what Linux technologies are included, how Palm OS Garnet compatibility will be handled and what the development environment will be composed of. Colligan ended the Q&A session stating that the Linux based platform will be a integral "core technology" for Palm for the foreseeable future.

But certainly it is a good move by Palm and let wait and watch for the progress.

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