Plug pulled on Palm OS - webOS is king
Palm getting on the Windows Mobile train too
Palm has finally confirmed what we all were thinking: it's given up its Palm OS platform for good.
Instead, webOS will be taking its place after a well-received debut... but surprisingly, Windows Mobile also features strongly in Palm's future as well.
Palm's CEO Ed Colligan, speaking at an investor conference in the US, confirmed that the company will use the Palm OS platform for the final time on the Centro.
"There will be no more Palm OS products. We will transition to webOS as our core OS, in addition to supporting Microsoft Windows products in the enterprise segment of the market," he said.
Backwards not needed
When speaking to Palm at CES this year, TechRadar was told although the reason backwards compatibility would not be possible on applications developed for the Palm OS, it would be so easy to re-code them it wouldn't matter.
It seems Palm has moved this idea to the next level: there won't be any need for compatibility as Palm OS simply won't exist.
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Colligan also stated he didn't expect the company to license out the webOS, saying it simply wasn't prominent enough in the industry, according to ArsTechnica:
"Right now we are completely focused on delivering an integrated solution that is just really great for consumers. At some point in time...you get enough critical mass around that platform, maybe it makes sense to license it, but not initially."
We're still waiting to find out when the Palm Pre is going to debut in the UK, but it seems Palm will reveal more details at Mobile World Congress next week.
Via Ars Technica
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.