11 Comments

The Palm OS "light" dies, no one cares?

May 27, 2007 by in Tech with 11 Comments

There’s no denying the fact that Windows Mobile is here, now, and probably the future majority holder of the mobile operating system arena. A position once filled by the likes of Palm. Unfortunately, like the seasons, preferred mobile operating system preferences change. We’re beginning to see a push for Windows-powered Palm devices… Does anyone care?

The Palm Pilot was the first wildly successful product that enabled us to walk around with a small computer in our pockets. Palm — and the Palm OS — has long since branched out into smart phones, and many reports claim the new Treo 755p, just released by Sprint Nextel Corp., will be the last hurrah for the aging Palm OS as Palm replaces it with Linux.

There are many advantages to Palm in making this move. Perhaps the biggest is the fact that Palm can leverage that technology for the Treo and make available to users the many third-party applications written for Linux-based phones.

So the Treo 755p may well be the end of an era for a platform that once held near-monopolistic market share for mobile devices. Is the 755p a grand final moment for Palm OS?

I know Dan is a huge fan of Palm and his inseperable Treo. Don’t get me wrong, the Treo was a solid device when I used it. But I was never completely awed by the unit. Are you an ex-Palm OS fan making the jump to a Windows-powered version? If so, chime in with your thoughts, pains, frustrations, or jubilation.


  • cynic821

    iPhone?

  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    Windows mobile is just frustrating to use, the OS gets in the way of operation.

  • chad

    I too recently made the jump to Palm OS… after a frustrating 9 months of WIndows Mobile 5 I ditched the 700w and went to a 680p… so far, I like Palm better, but I think both OS’s could be improved greatly.

    the leanest meanest and most efficient OS I have seen on a full qwerty keyboarded phone so far (although locked down and expandability sucks) the sidekick II and sidekick III’s OS is great. It’s fast, fairly efficient, well supported, and the apps you can use are usually top notch. Plus over the air updates and outlook syncing with a little piece of software…

    I just wish they would open up the platform for developers :(

  • http://www.deepdisch.net Kendrick

    man i used windows mobile for lotsa years, then last year went to a treo 700p because windows mobile was so quirky. Now I’m very frustrated by the pains i’m having with Palm os, it is just a deal breaker to not be able to multitask programs. I don’t either one, but right now, if i had to choose, i would go with a windows unit. anyone want to buy my 700p?

  • http://www.clashbang.com Chris

    The whole idea of Palm OS (and PDAs in general) is not to have a computer at your fingertips, but an easy to-do list, address book, and memo pad at your disposal. They even did tests when Palms first came out; it was far faster and took less clicks to use one hand and find a phone number. As PDAs became more complex, they lost that fundamental goal and became, essentially, small general-use computers.

    I’d take my aging monochrome Palm Vx over a new Pocket PC machine any day.

  • Ian

    Like Billy, I started out with a Handspring Visor, then moved to a non-phone-based Treo (yes, they did make those), then to a Dell Axim, and now I’ve finally settled on what I view to be the best mobile OS right now, the BlackBerry. Sure, the iPhone is less than a month away, but I’ve been incredibly impressed with the Pearl that I might just pick up the new Curve when it comes out.

  • http://www.jodriozola.com/blog Javier

    I had an aging b&w handspring visor deluxe until last year, I loved it for its ease to use, now I own an HTC Wizard (T-Mobile MDA) and I got to say the calendar sucks, what where they thinking? I tried some other calendars with no luck, they are bloated and annoying to use. The OS experience in general is quite lame :(

  • http://obviousdiversion.com Christian

    Windows Mobile the future majority stakeholder? I doubt it. Symbian is already on millions more handhelds than Windows Mobile and is being adopted at more than healthy rates, not to mention a variety of hacked down linux/unix kernels that are the core of many phones. I would be willing to bet that in five years, Windows Mobile will find itself in 4th place behind custom unix implimentations, symbian, and the forthcoming Apple mobile platform.

  • http://www.uneasysilence.com Dan

    I HOPE the iPhone is a complete failure!

  • Billy

    I started with a Handspring, moved tp a Treo 650, then a Treo 750. I did like the Palm OS, but the Windows OS, after you get used to it, is far batter, more customizable and can acomplish more and faster. My 650 wasn’t that stable either. I can’t wait for WM 6.

  • Paul

    I fell in love with the whole Palm OS back with my first IIIe, and I migrated through various Palm devices (IIIxe, IIIc, M505) until I got my current (and totally indispensable) Treo 650 with the Garnet OS. I absolutely love the simple system – it does exactly what I need it to do and tons more.

    More than that, the Palm Desktop is without question the finest, most functional desktop organizing system (far better than any incarnation of Outlook) – and it’s free, and (importantly) Non-Microsoft.

    I’ve tried Windows OS, and all I can say is that it’s a shame that the Palm OS is toast. I, for one, care.

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