In the long run this is kind of pointless. Open source OS's are going to take over in the mobile market in a very short time, and each variant will just mimic each other. As soon as something innovative comes out from any OS (closed or open) it will just be incorporated into the open ones in a short time, just like the big Linux versions on PC's. The main reason why the industry will adopt open source is because of the varied market of OS in the mobile market to begin with. Linux hasn't really taken over at all yet because the market is dominated w/ 1 OS that everybody is familiar with, and the hardware manufacturers are in no hurry to write drivers. That is not the case in the mobile market. This is also the only reason I dual boot windows instead of only using Linux.

jkr2

Helio,Sidekick UI designer, Talk about a gift and a curse.

Looks like Palm is going for Sidekick users (teens) now its better than going out of business

utube2007

Palm should have redesigned their OS years ago. Instead they dumped millions into the Foleo. Terrible strategy. But not surprising. I did some freelance work with Palm a few times. Two words to describe the Palm workforce: Dysfunctional and bloated. Trying to get anything done was like swimming through Jell-O while being eaten by pirana. And chased by headhunters.

alowishus

the next palm OS is supposed be built on using a linux platform.

cf292010

I don't like the SK UI. It's eww...IMO.

The Helio one is ehh too...

Palm is mhhh IMHO.

That sums my thoughts up. XD

CutePuppyz

I like my palm z22, but it wouldn't be that great for a smartphone. That being said, I actually like the Graffiti input system (I prefer the old version to the new version, which is more sensitive).

kzooguy

@alowishus: What flavor Jello? THINK! It's important!

GadgetPlay

LOL ... and here I was thinking the sign behind him said Porn.

aelver

Palm was supposed to do the Linux thing years ago.

Palm was supposed to do A LOT of things years ago.

Holding one's breath would be ill-advised based on past performance. (or lack thereof)

strider_mt2k

@jkr2:

As much as I love open source, it will not take over the mobile phone market in any way. Yes, OS's in mobile phones will take cues from open source projects, but in the end, it's all about hardware. Mobile phones platforms are heavily fragmented and even within a certain platform, there are compatibility issues. For example, apps that should work in Windows Mobile don't always work on certain flavors of WM. Each hardware manufacturer has specific requirements. I can't just plug any Windows Mobile 6 ROM into any WM device. It has to be configured for that specific phone. Although there is a huge homebrew community at xda developers, they constitute a fraction of the mobile phone market and they don't support the mainstream user.

Android will be interesting if they can get it off the ground, but Apple has shown tremendous success by pushing a heavily controlled and monitored development environment. With so many companies making Android phones, I can't imagine that they're going to play well together.

SwapMeet

It's so cute how irrelevant Palm is these days. Back in high school, I was one of the biggest Palm OS advocates around.

I don't think they've even done anything to the OS since I was in high school.

GC

Palm sat back and twiddled their thumbs for far too long. It's a shame too, they had such a good thing going...then. And that whole Foleo thing, WTF! Even Palm's newest OS is far outdated, and they are so far behind in adding things like BlueTooth and WiFi it's just hilarious. Their next OS should be codenamed "Titanic".

rg

I predict that this hire will not turn Palm around.

zed0

@strider_mt2k: Hell, it would have been nice if palm did anything...

My dad picked up a palm, I looked at it, slapped my forehead and recommended it's immediate banishment into purgatory.

I'm actually quite looking forward to Android. I suspect once again, Google will create another awesome product(I hear the framework they're using is comprised partly of epic and with the remainder being win) that will change the playing field and inject some vigor into the stagnant market that is smart phone O/S. Between Android, the iPhone O/S and the new O/S being developed by Nokia, I think the next year will be an exciting time for the smart phone market.

jackfrost132

@SwapMeet: keep in mind that iPhone is darwin, which is open source. (the kernel that is)

jkr2

@SwapMeet:
if linux can run on almost any computer, so can android run on just about any phone, it's about the drivers. Android is linux based too, so it already has a large established community. Yes, the iPhone is great, but it has little market share. The phone venders will adopt the open source OS's because they don't cost money the eats into the profit margin. I'm familiar w/ the xda developers, I have a mio and have been an active member of the mio forums, as well as the buzzdev forum. Considering that wm doesn't have an abstraction layer, it's amazing that home brews work at all. Also keep in mind that many pda's are made using identical hardware components. Cell phones are a little more varied, but most cell phones have completly unique UI's built from the ground up. By taking the principle parts of the open OS's, and incorporating drivers and the hardware specific software, they can save a great deal of time and money. Which is why so many large companies are now pushing heavily for open source software (palm, nokia, NVIDIA, Intel, Texas Instruments, Synaptics (haptics!), Marvell, Qualcomm (chips), Motorola, Samsung, TMO, Sprint, LG, HTC, KDDI and DOCOMO, among others).

jkr2

@jackfrost132: To be honest, it kills me.

I LOVED Palm OS at one time.
I was a daily user, active on the Palm forums and did a little beta testing as well.

Now SO MUCH TIME has passed that you can carry an ultra-portable that runs the same OS as your desktop.
The same damn thing.

Palm's original strength was doing more with less, but now they just keep repeating the Treo design the Handspring guys made years ago.
Oh, sorry. They made it smaller with the Centro.
Big shit.

The hardware is done elsewhere.
They HAVE to make a new OS for themselves because they sold Garnet and the Palm OS legacy off to Access.

All they do is talk, aside from that abortive attempt at an ultra-portable. (How much did THAT cost 'em?)

It's better to burn out than it is to rust.

strider_mt2k

Palm is still in business? Oh that's right, the Vatican bought them.

All fun aside, it would be nice if Palm got things going again. They we're one of the companies that pioneered the technology for hand held devices that we all use today. They have had some poor leadership in the last 5+ years that has sent them from near the top to the basement. Perhaps Matias can help bring Palm devices back to being competitive.

bms

Does this mean a new UI will replace Palm OS as well as Palms with WINDOWS on them (like the touch diamond)? If that is the case, that's nice, but Duarte needs to get his asso in gear, unless he already has an idea in the bucket for Palm. Huuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyy.

Also, is this the Linux version of the Palm OS (ACCESS)? I sure hope so.

Stacky Botrus

Scoff if you want, but I still use a Treo and it is the simplest, most versatile platform I've handled. I find Windows Mobile takes twice the effort to get things done, and the lack of touch on a Blackberry (along with a number of performance related issues that I have noticed) give Treo an edge. And the iPhone still has serious issues for business users, irrespective of the Exchange support. Not quite there.

Having said all that, there are about five metric butt-loads of room for improvement on the Treo, including WiFi, more speed, VPN support, better browsing, better Bluetooth, and possibly others that I can't think of right now.

But for me the OVERALL experience continues to serve me very well. I sincerely hope that Palm can pull the marshmallows out of the fire and keep them from becoming a black, charred mass with a center that can destroy your mucus membranes.

ps61318

I understand that this will draw a lot of fire but what if someone only wants a clean UI that simply gets the job done and is exceedingly simply to pick and just use. Doesn't Palm's easy to use OS fit the bill nicely? It isn't hard to figure out. It has a friendly screen and it doesn't scare off non-gizmo users. I know they haven't changed in a long time and that isn't practical in today's world but there is something to say for a smartphone that is practical and dependable and doesn't try to be a pc in disguise.

sgrmba

The picture of the new Palm GUI looks a lot like a guy in a shirt standing in front of a logo. Interesting.

frigg

@frigg: My question is: Does Matias Duarte?

ps61318

There should be a book called "Where's the new edition of Palm OS?" Like Where's Waldo except that you can't find Waldo.

godzilla07

Good thing he has the iPhone as a template to base his new UI. LOL

Ken_Darrow