From: "Laurens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Well, I'm beginning to worry, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. OS6 > devices from PalmOne are not due for another year at least. > (Realistically, it will be spring 2006 at the earliest.) > I'm really not sure that OS6 is that important for the future of Palm OS. My most recent contract was on a custom-cased Palm OS *4* device (built by Acceca). For that client v4 had the right mix of functionality and device cost. Palm OS 5 is still viable as a platform and there are a lot of devices out there.
And as far as reducing market share goes, let's not forget that they pretty much owned that market. You're not seeing a reduction from 30%, you're seeing a company fight head-to- -head with MS and still hold solid market share. There are other companies that dream about the sort of market share PalmSource has against MS. Although I agree strongly with the comments from Mike on licensing strategy. I've worked with companies choosing OS platforms for devices and the people making the decision will often just pick the lowest entry cost. Palm OS needs to make it easy for manufacturers to step in. Although Aceeca are an interesting case in that area - they manufacture on behalf of clients so you've got the choice as to whether you use their license or step out and purchase your own (as I understand it - I didn't talk licensing costs). They're in the business of building devices with instrumentation and different storage options but there must be a place for the same business model for a company providing just a range of devices with hardware and ROM options to companies wanting to source low-volume Palm OS devices for niche markets. Chris Tutty -- For information on using the Palm Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
