Re: Is Palm OS Going Away?

[Regis melo]

Ingbert Grimpe wrote: Just my two cents (and playing advocatus diaboli a bit): I'm really not a very good programmer. I'm using Appforge and the only reason to dig deeper into PalmOS was the need to add some stuff that is not supported by AF. For the same reason I needed to check into Windows Mobile (or PocketPC or whatever MS's marketing machine wants to call it now). I'm curious about AppForge. What You can't do with AppForge that You need to go to Palm OS API? My feeling: PalmOS is really the superior OS for devices with limited resources (read: CPU and RAM). Even for a novice it's easy to see that PalmOS was developed for small devices with options to 'grow'. WinCE/Mobile/whatever clearly was something that was originally made for 'real' computers and later reduced to allow it to run on small machines. But that's history. Today we are seeing CPUs with > 600 MHz clock and RAM > 256 MB. That's desktop power from less then 7 years ago. And (if we are honest) a desktop PC with that parameters would really be sufficient for most users' normal requirements (write email, letters and surf I-Net). Why did people buy Win PDAs even when they really sucked? Bc it was Windows! Why should people buy a PDA with 'not-Windows-OS'? They will not. Esp not, when the device is performant enough for everyday use (see above and add MP3 playing and GPS navigation). Yeah. It's true! The PDAs is very powerful today. But We have some troubles yet, for example, the batteries life. The life is not so simple... PalmOS is dead in the long run. There's MS outside and there's Symbian outside. Linux is really cool and obviously a mature OS for professional use, still it has not conquered the desktop of Joe Average. Same for mobile devices for the masses. Palm OS is dead today! Access already announces that. But I don't think that it's so simple to say that now the only players is MS and Symbian. I think that the movement that Access are doing is a good thing. Linux is a mature OS and can be a good solution to popularize PDA with more recurses that PalmOS can't do. Palm OS devices are very popular here, in Brazil, because are very cheaper. My fear is if MS launches a PDA like Zire 21 ou Z22 and dominate the market of low price PDAs... Steve Ballmer at the last 3GSM announces plans to launch a $100,00 PDA... So If it happening, I don't known what will happen with new Palm Linux platform... What is better? A mature (Windows Mobile) OS with a bigger support and great tools (VStudio) or a future OS that came from Access? Palm is a company that needs to make money. Give me a reason why they should not choose Windows? And hey, don't forget: Apple now has 'Intel Inside' ... Palm Inc is supporting Windows on Treo 700w. The future is Windows Mobile? I don't known.... -- For information on using the PalmSource Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/