so is this the end of PalmOS ???

[livemotion]

Since the new and future treos will only run on Windows Mobile is this the end of PalmOS ?

Yea Palm has a new Zire comming out and all but its not a Treo..

[christine600]

Ed? said that WinMobile was an addon for Palm - not a road change.

So we will still have PalmOS. What he did not mention was if we get a PalmOS update. But since it's not beeing scrapped it would be silly not to update it. So my 0.02 is that it's not the end of PalmOS. 

[MrByte]

there is to big of a (loyal) PalmOs customer base to just dump it. They will support both for quite some time.

[livemotion]

Well ofcourse, I wouldn't expect support to be dropped but since its the end of the PalmOS treo line, that kind of sends a discouraging message to 3rd party software developers, right?

[ksmirnov]

I only stay with Treo because of the Palm OS - it is simple and reliable. If I will be forced to switch to Windows I will simply swithc to other hardware.

If Palm will completely dump Palm OS for the sake of Windows, I will feel myself betrayed. That will make Palm just a niche player making just another phone. Why should I care for the phone? I care for my information and applications that I am comfortable with.

To hell with Outlook! I need my DateBk5 and Natara Bonsai!

[dturley]

The 700w is exclusive to Verizon. That means if Palm drops the palm-based Treos, they drop non-Verizon users, they go to a domestic US only for Treos. Even Palm execs can't be that lame-brained. Granted over the years, the zombie PC users may gradually pick Windows over Palm, but even Apple survives with a small market share.

(And that small market share uses Apple by choice. Most Windows users I know are forced by employers, or a lack of knowledge.)

[ronbo2000]

Any chance that Apple will develop their own since Motorola's chief called "Nano" a bad name?  If given a choice, I try to choose non-MS applications.

[livemotion]

Apple has an excellent opportunity here to start developing their own pda/phone/pda os here before windows swallows the entire market. Yea I'm a mac user, but wouldn't anyone be tempted to jump on board on an Apple designed PDA device running an OS build on top of UNIX. I really hope that the KOTR phone was only the beginning to get the ball rolling, Apple is most definately capable of doing much better.

[Feico Mol]

I doubt Palm is entirely dropping Palm OS. Surely they'll be using the Windows version as immense pressure on what is still called PalmSource to finally deliver on their promises to release a better new OS, whether it's Cobalt, Linux or whatever they can come up with.

[shneor]

The Treo 700w (or whatever) is Microsoft's Blackerry killer. It will push not only e-mail but everything in Outlook out to the Treo - calendar, contacts, etc. etc. They have been looking for something like this for quite awhile, and really resent RIM's success in leveraging off their software.

For Palm, this opens a huge corporate market they have been largely locked out of because of limited compatibility. For Verizon, the early lead has an obvious purpose, as they hope to lock in lots of new corporate customers.

But a GSM version will be out in the second half of 2006.

Cobalt has not appeared in any device so far. I'd suyspect that Palm won't spend too much effort on further releases of the Palm OS.

The 700w won't have built-in wifi - just support for a wifi card. Since it does not have two slots, use of wifi will be limited to certain types of applications. How long will it take before there's Skype - or something similar - that runs on Windows Mobile 5? Not very. Sure, you will be able to get along without a carrier, but you may have to switch cards. Or maybe SanDisk will come out with a combo that has a couple of gig on it.

Also, as far as I could tell, the 700w still does not have a USB connector...

Shneor

[copasetic]

The Treo 700w (or whatever) is Microsoft's Blackerry killer. It will push not only e-mail but everything in Outlook out to the Treo - calendar, contacts, etc. etc. They have been looking for something like this for quite awhile, and really resent RIM's success in leveraging off their software.
Cobalt has not appeared in any device so far. I'd suyspect that Palm won't spend too much effort on further releases of the Palm OS.

The 700w won't have built-in wifi - just support for a wifi card. Since it does not have two slots, use of wifi will be limited to certain types of applications. How long will it take before there's Skype - or something similar - that runs on Windows Mobile 5? Not very. Sure, you will be able to get along without a carrier, but you may have to switch cards. Or maybe SanDisk will come out with a combo that has a couple of gig on it.

Shneor

They also (like Apple did) are going to orphan a lot of developers, both who make hardware and software by such a move.  Granted, you choose to develop for an OS, and most agreements allow the group you want to develop for to cancel at any time (they are pretty specific about what they allow) so it's a risk regardless.  I consider big groups like Cingular, who just announced their big plans to support further PalmOS development in particular.  This is perhaps as significant, because Cingular has more customers than VZW, and also supports older GSM technology, which most of Europe still uses.  True, Apple didn't care, so maybe Palm doesn't either, but they might. 

Their specific commitment to the 650 as an existing PalmOS device pretty much guarantees that we won't see another PalmOS Treo, unless someone can hack the new one, whatever its name will be.  But to their credit, with MS behind them, who cares?  It looks like they made some minor mods to the 650, stuck in a smaller screen (will save money), perfected the hardware a little bit for network (yes it was already there) and BT, and voila! A new device!  The lack of a hires screen is really annoying, because though WinMo is native to 240x240, it's not required...Windows uses a LOT more real estate than PalmOS did.

Either way, it was fun while it lasted.  Life goes on.  Thanks folks, it has been an enjoyable time.  Once again, I find something neat and new and something manages to kill it! 

*snif*

[christine600]

Either way, it was fun while it lasted.  Life goes on.  Thanks folks, it has been an enjoyable time.  Once again, I find something neat and new and something manages to kill it! 

to that! So you bough a BETAMAX video set and the Amiga computer? 

[shneor]

The smaller screen is because Windows Mobile supports 240x240 and 480x480 - the latter is too big to fit.

I agree that developers may be stranded, but I also heard that Palm OS devices are not going away. I suspect that some iteration of Palm OS or a lookalike shell running under another OS like Linux will be forthcoming. Or maybe virtualization will come to the Treo 700w and you'll be able to run the OS of your choice. Now that would be nice!

Shneor

[ghostofcain]

to that! So you bough a BETAMAX video set and the Amiga computer? 

hey we had a betamax and a BBC model B computer and a sony sj20 and now a Treo.....I am the Jonah

[xxC0BRAxx]

coding on WinCE is a whole other world, but is much more similar in process to desktop apps.  and if anyone here is beta'ing the Windows Vista, you'll see how freaking cool this will be for connectivity around Q3 2006