Click to View

Later this year or early next, when will we see the first smartphone running Palm's new Linux-based Palm OS II platform? According to an unconfirmed report in DigiTimes, the former has the advantage, for now. Citing sources close to the company, the report says this smartphone should ship in October, with additional Linux-based models to follow later on.

The report jibes with a statement Palm CEO Ed Colligan gave in April, where he said the company would release devices based on its new in-house mobile platform before the end of 2007. It contradicts a conference call in July, however; where Colligan changed his tune, saying these devices wouldn't be seen until 2008.

The Linux core of Palm OS II is the same as the one found in Palm's laptop-like Foleo Mobile Companion. Palm recently announced it is working with the Linux experts at Wind River Systems to bolster its Linux initiatives, which include Foleo and smartphones.

DigiTimes quotes its source as saying, "Palm's new Linux-based smartphone will help facilitate Linux applications between the smartphone and the Foleo," something all its smartphone models, and, eventually, those from other companies will eventually do as well.

Wind River Systems is likely helping Palm solve synchronization problems that have surfaced to delay Foleo's release, while playing a role in ironing out any issues that caused Colligan to hedge a bit on when it would introduce its first Linux smartphone.

Palm's Linux-based mobile platform is the company's follow up to aging the Garnet flavor of the Palm OS. ACCESS, which absorbed former Palm subsidiary PalmSource, manages Garnet, and has developed a sequel to the Palm OS as well: called the ACCESS Linux Platform, better known as ALP.

Rather than license ALP, Palm chose to develop its own Linux OS, probably to maintain tight control over the platform. Unlike ACCESS, a software company only, Palm doesn't plan to license its Linux OS out to other hardware vendors.

The last remaining ties Palm has to ACCESS is their shared interest in Garnet, which Palm can do whatever it wants with since it paid $44 million for a perpetual license to that platform's source code in 2006.

Both ACCESS's ALP and Palm's Palm OS II will allow users to run existing Palm platform applications. Other than that bit of information, Palm's hasn't offered much else in the way of specifics regarding what Palm OS II, which may or may not be the platform's final name, can do.

Whatever its features, it is safe to assume Palm OS II will mean the end of Palm creating products running on Palm OS Garnet. On the other hand, Windows Mobile, the fastest growing mobile-device platform, will continue to be an important, if not essential, part of Palm's future. Today, half of Palm’s products run on Microsoft’s mobile-device platform.