Palm delays Linux-based Treos to 2008
updated 01:05 pm EDT, Mon July 2, 2007
Palm Linux Treos in 2008
Palm won't offer an updated version of the PalmOS for its phones until 2008, the company's chief Ed Colligan said in the company's latest financial conference call. Though declining to provide details, the executive notes that the switch from the company's self-developed mobile OS to a version based on Linux won't occur until 2008. The move will mean that Treos will ship with either the in-house software or Windows Mobile for the "foreseeable future," Colligan says. The delay is not characterized as an immediate setback as roughly half of Palm's phones ship with Windows Mobile while the PalmOS versions are typically bought by less demanding mainstream users.
The delay on the OS is likely to have an immediate effect upon both the "Gandolf" and Treo 800w, either of which is expected before the end of 2007 but were strong initial candidates for the Linux-based software shell. Palm still plans to release the Linux-driven Foleo smartphone companion notebook during the summer, though the product is cross-platform and does not share immediately evident connections with the future PalmOS. [via Brighthand]
