Ok wow, this is a Big Deal. Engadget has spy pics and videos of rumoured Palm Treo 670 running the latest version of Windows Mobile.
This is big in so many ways: the end of PalmSource (effectively); the fantastic hardware design of the 650 utilising the suprisingly mature WM5.0 software should provide a killer platform (I’m tempted); and not to mention a huge slap in the face for 3rd party Palm software developers.
So where to from here? What do we make of PalmSource’s rumoured forays into a Linux-based OS? Is it relevant anymore, or has PalmOne just stabbed them in the back? Is this why PalmOne bought the Palm brand back? Are we going to see an aggressive re-lauch of Palm as a best-of-breed hardware platform for any OS, or are they committing themselves 100% to Windows Mobile? Questions questions questions!
From memory PalmOne (aka Palm) recently re-licensed PalmOS from PalmSource as well…so presumably they mean to cover all the bases. Certainly they already have a lot of Telcos (Orange, Sprint, T-Mobile etc.) selling PalmOs based Treos… so I can’t see them all swapping over to Windows Mobile in a hurry given they’ve spent time branding and developing these devices.
But given the choice of PalmOs Garnet (5.4) and Windows Mobile on a Treo6xx which would you prefer? Given the PalmOS NVFS system is basically f*cked?
Four years, PalmOne recently re-licensed from PalmSource for four years.
Oooh wait… do I get a free set of steak knives with Garnet?