[rossarnie]

The sad irony of Palm's brilliant leap forward in the shape of WebOS and the Pre, is that PalmOS is surely dead; having searched a number of sites and forums, it seems unlikely that the new OS will be backwards compatible, which means that all my beloved programs will probably die with my T680.

It means that the feature of PalmOS that I appreciated the most - its speed - may or may not be repeated (or bettered?) in WebOS.

I also gather that WebOS will be a lot more of a closed book to developers, as their programs will have to be 'approved' to avoid the possibility that they might mess up the phones. Though a definite improvement, as it lessens the chance of the phone fritzing, it will detract from one of PalmOS's great qualities - the sheer number of programs available and the speed with which they were updated.

It will also mean that, if I choose to stick with Palm, I will have to get used to a new OS, something I have avoided until now, and one of the reasons I was faithful to Palm through its turbulent times.

The bottom line: when I decide on my next phone, Palm will have no headstart on any other manufacturer or OS. And that kind of saddens me...

[LupeValenz]

From the keynote I saw in the videos, it seems to move very fluid. The music app did lag a little bit on opening up, but overall, the apps seems to be pretty snappy.
Now now, Palm OS is not dead, its still alive with Palm webOS. Yes, Garnet is dead now..but I don't mind that as it seems this WebOS looks incredible. The apps look nice and I don't think I'll have to look for 3rd party app replacements as the default apps look very nice.

[anon(45821)]

I also gather that WebOS will be a lot more of a closed book to developers, as their programs will have to be 'approved' to avoid the possibility that they might mess up the phones.

Hey rossarnie, I'm curious where you obtained information that applications will have to be approved? I must have missed this with all the massive postings going on around here.

[rossarnie]

Hey rossarnie, I'm curious where you obtained information that applications will have to be approved? I must have missed this with all the massive postings going on around here.

At the video round-table during the Q&A with Palm (in the lead story here). It was said that apps will come via the App store etc., around 7 minutes in...

[letsgoflyers81]

Yeah I caught that too. The presenter said they want the OS to be open source and accessible, but apps will need to be signed that way you don't end up with buggy programs that cause system problems. I get it, I just hope they don't get as strict as Apple.

[BMIC50]

Yeah, in the interview the guy said that all apps will have to be 'signed' through the app store.

[anon(45821)]

Yeah, in the interview the guy said that all apps will have to be 'signed' through the app store.

Just got to that point in the video and was about to comment, thanks.

[Typo Lad]

Yup, Palm OS 5 is dead... and let it stay that way, I say.

[antmelnat]

I am on Sprint and will be getting the Pre as soon as it is offered. I will enjoy my Centro till then and have three to five months to say goodbye to the Palm OS that has faithfully served me since my Treo 90.

Yes, with the release of Web OS, Palm OS for the smartphone is now on life support with its only chance for survival being a transplant into a feature phone. The PIM and syncing capabilities of Palm OS alone rival any current feature phone out there.

[ADGrant]

Now now, Palm OS is not dead, its still alive with Palm webOS. Yes, Garnet is dead now..but I don't mind that as it seems this WebOS looks incredible.

PalmOS is complete dead, about as dead as that Parrot in Monty Python. Palm WebOS is not PalmOS, it is a completely different platform.

[cckgz4]

Good thing I haven't really got a lot of apps for my Centro

[CountBuggula]

Well, not entirely dead. Garnet (and the PalmOS look and feel) lives on in ALP, if we ever see a device running it.

[ADGrant]

Well, not entirely dead. Garnet (and the PalmOS look and feel) lives on in ALP, if we ever see a device running it.

That would be an interesting oppurtunity for some company. A bit niche though.

[B-model#CB]

rossarnie -
I was very familar with my last car ... I new exactly how it drove, how to park it, how much gas it was use. But after having it for almost 10 years, it was time to move on. I missed that car, but i quickly learned to enjoy the benfiots of a new car - better gas millage, heated seats, and many other new technologies added since my old car was born.

It;s time to move on ... the Palm OS (Garrnet) is like that early 1990's car you see on the road ... time to put it to bed

[maxmin]

Yea, I'd have to say I'm pretty disappointed about the no backward compatibility. I honestly think it's going to cost them. One of the biggest opportunities Palm may have had for a comeback was it's very loyal installed base. Sure they say the development will be similar to the way web is developed with HTML, etc but this type of development is not necessarily easy or fast. (I'm a web developer). A new OS :-( I just don't think the world needs another one.

There is really no reason to stay with Palm other than I like the new design (which I do). But I could also go to iPhone or Android also since none of my old apps will work.

It's really too bad they couldn't buy back the old Palm Software group before or at least worked with them in some kind of arrangement and co-developed the slick new interface and native apps.

[bhtooefr]

rossarnie -
I was very familar with my last car ... I new exactly how it drove, how to park it, how much gas it was use. But after having it for almost 10 years, it was time to move on. I missed that car, but i quickly learned to enjoy the benfiots of a new car - better gas millage, heated seats, and many other new technologies added since my old car was born.

It;s time to move on ... the Palm OS (Garrnet) is like that early 1990's car you see on the road ... time to put it to bed

But, this is a bit different analogy.

This is like buying a Prius, and being told that you have to run a custom fuel for it that isn't available from anywhere but Toyota dealers, and you can't use gasoline, which you've been using for years, and you even have a bunch of gas cards that someone gave you for Christmas, that you can't use.

(And, FWIW, my early 1990's car, a 1992 Mazda Miata, has the same EPA fuel economy rating as a 2009 Miata, yet runs on regular instead of premium. Oh, and it handles better than the 2009 (which is the whole point of the car - the 2009 is heavier, so...) and is much, much easier to work on. And, of course, I don't have a car payment at all.)

[pilot1000]

Actually it's like buying the Honda FCX Clarity -- real world example. You cannot buy fuel just anywhere. You must buy it from the special stations. At some point, those dealers may be more widespread, but you cannot put gasoline in it, just hydrogen. But you reap all the benefits of new technology.

[gadgetluva]

Yea, I'd have to say I'm pretty disappointed about the no backward compatibility. I honestly think it's going to cost them. One of the biggest opportunities Palm may have had for a comeback was it's very loyal installed base. Sure they say the development will be similar to the way web is developed with HTML, etc but this type of development is not necessarily easy or fast. (I'm a web developer). A new OS :-( I just don't think the world needs another one.

There is really no reason to stay with Palm other than I like the new design (which I do). But I could also go to iPhone or Android also since none of my old apps will work.

It's really too bad they couldn't buy back the old Palm Software group before or at least worked with them in some kind of arrangement and co-developed the slick new interface and native apps.

When I had my Treo 650 a couple of years ago, most of the apps were pure garbage. There were maybe a dozen that were good, but they were graphically unappealing although there was good functionality there. However, they didn't support the newest technologies (i.e. location based services) and all of that means that legacy support will be a very small factor for the success of this device.

[ADGrant]

Sure they say the development will be similar to the way web is developed with HTML, etc but this type of development is not necessarily easy or fast. (I'm a web developer).

Particularly if you are not a Web developer. All the other Smartphones require conventional rich client development skills. Trying to port exisiting apps will be interesting.

[EdCates]

In the Newsweek article, posted elsewhere, they likened the evolution of PalmOS to taking a lawnmower engine and then modding it into a gokart, modding the gokart to a full-sized car, the car to a plane, and then trying to fly the plane to the moon.

How on earth is Palm supposed to do that?

Palm had to choose between hardware and software.

• If they kept the old software that the current base is used to, they could not provide the hardware needed to compete in the smartphone marketplace. And that is where the huge growth in the overall mobile market is anticipated.
• If they developed new hardware, it obviously would need a from-scratch system to run it, as Garnet/PalmOS just doesn't cut it. This, of course, risks alienating current Palm users.

They've obviously chosen the latter approach, hoping that the influx of new customers will offset the loss of old customers and actually make the company viable once again. It's hard for long-time customers to accept, but let's be honest: There just aren't enough Palm addicts out there to keep the company going. They made the choice they needed to in order to survive.

Good for them. I look forward to getting a debugged PrPrPr&#$275$; $early$ $next$ $year$ $when$ $my$ $contract$ $is$ $up$.