Mentat Supplies TCP/IP for Palm OS Cobalt

Mentat today announced that it has licensed its TCP/IP stack and Streams infrastructure to PalmSource. Both Mentat TCP and Mentat Portable Streams (MPS) have been integrated into Palm OS Cobalt and will be available to all users as standard components of the operating system.

Mentat TCP is a high-performance, standards-based implementation of TCP/IP, the protocols used for communications over the Internet and other computer networks. Mentat TCP offers unmatched performance along with advanced functionality including IPv6 and IP Security (IPsec). MPS is Mentat's implementation of STREAMS, an extensible networking infrastructure providing a standardized interface for protocols and drivers to the operating system. By taking advantage of the STREAMS-based communications architecture, developers can easily port networking protocols and drivers to Palm OS Cobalt.

Formerly known as Palm OS 6, Palm OS Cobalt is a complete rewrite of Palm OS designed to maintain ease of use and software compatibility while creating a foundation for next-generation Palm Powered devices and solutions tailored to the growing needs of the communications, enterprise, education and entertainment markets.

"As connected mobile devices have become more prevalent on enterprise networks, users are constantly looking at maintaining real-time access to data," said Charlie Tritschler, vice president of product marketing for PalmSource. "Mentat's networking infrastructure solutions enhance the functionality of Palm OS and complement PalmSource's efforts to provide state-of-the-art wireless connectivity to a new generation of Palm Powered smart mobile devices."