Palm's Next Generation OS is Code-named Nova

Palm NovaRecently the question of what to call Palm's next generation OS has been a source of confusion and commotion around the boards here at PIC. Members have so far been referring to it by a multitude of names and acronyms such as: Palm OS 2, POS II, POX, Palm's Palm OS, ALPOS, Palm's next-generation linux based operating system and even Palm OS Mobile Professional Ultimate Treo edition. So the need to have a single, proper way to refer to the new OS is crucial. Fortunately, PalmInfocenter has recently learned of the code-name being used around Palm Inc. from a reliable source.

The internal code name for Palm's next generation OS is Nova. The current release schedule being discussed by Palm management is to announce and get Nova out to developers in some form later this calendar year. I've heard reports from inside the company that Nova is presently being demoed and tested internally on an unreleased future Palm device code-named Zeppelin.

Statements made by Palm executives indicate that Palm will be making some partner and developer announcements around Nova later in 2008. The earliest estimates for when it will actually ship on new Palm hardware is currently February 2009.

Article Comments

 (82 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Start a new Comment Down View Full Comment Thread

NOVa

BaalthazaaR @ 1/10/2008 12:32:08 PM # Q
yeah I like that New Os Vapor or NOVa.
RE: NOVa
LiveFaith @ 1/10/2008 5:48:54 PM # Q
Just ask GM. Nova in French means "Won't Go".

Why am I getting ready for a headline like this? ...


3/7/09
by Wall Street Journal

"Franklin Announces Buyout of Palm Incorporated"
Today, Franklin Inc., makers of calculators and electronic dictionaries etc, announces a buyout of struggling handheld computing poineer Palm Inc.

Dean Gilberry, President and CEO stated that the Palm OS based organizer should bolster Franklin's bubble pack retail electronics in the future. In the full press release, he stated that shareholders should be happy about getting a company with a strong past retail presence and name recognition for only $.65 per share.

Beleagured Palm, has had dwindling sales of lackluster smartphones and organizers for the past 5 years now. Lack of competitive innovation and last years failure to deliver it's new operating system doomed the company. Palm is rumored to have shopped new Treo and Centro smartphones to national and international carriers, who rejected them en mass. Functionality, stability, and incompatibility of it's Linux based OS have been passed around for months now. As a result, aready weakened Palm shares have plummeted in recent months. ...


... sure hope I'm wrong. :-
Pat Horne

RE: NOVa
LiveFaith @ 1/10/2008 6:33:23 PM # Q
Or Italian, or Spanish.

Pat Horne
RE: NOVa
2xs @ 1/11/2008 2:02:54 AM # Q
not so far away from no-way! :D

Palm Professional -> Palm III -> Palm Vx -> Palm m505 -> Palm TT2 -> Palm TT3 -> Palm TX -> Treo680
RE: NOVa
smiley1081 @ 1/11/2008 4:03:13 AM # Q
> Just ask GM. Nova in French means "Won't Go".

Uhm, not in the french I know.

Or Italian.

Or Spanish.

RE: NOVa
JackG @ 1/11/2008 12:10:51 PM # Q
The "incorrect" part of this newsbulletin, is the failure of the Centro. Sprint has been selling them like hotcakes, according to everything I've read and heard, they can't keep the red in stock, and with the forthcoming pink they've already got users lined up to buy. The GSM version is soon to be released, and these will hold Palm over until they can get the Nova out the door, at least IMO.

RE: NOVa
SeldomVisitor @ 1/11/2008 12:19:24 PM # Q
Except for the chance of a pink Centro suggesting sales are sufficient to risk a large order of nonBlack Centros, we have no overt evidence of anything w.r.t. the Centro and its sales.

Would be nice, huh, to get that info right from PALM?

RE: NOVa
hkklife @ 1/11/2008 1:44:18 PM # Q
I think it's safe to say that the Centro has been a bigger seller in its first few months on the markett than the 755p was, if due in no other reason to generally positive buzz and low pricing (with strings attached initially, of course).

I've yet to see a red Centro in person, actually. I also noticed that the Verizon 755p is now down to $250 after MIR (online pricing). That's a pretty reasonable price, especially for Verizon. And the 755p is actually retailing (pre-rebate) on vzw.com for $50 LESS than the ancient 700p/700wx. Of course, a Treo diehard could argue about the 700p's handful of superior features (reset button, slightly larger keys, fullsize SDHC slot, higher capacity battery) but I think 99% of the market would prefer the newer, sleeker, snappier 755p.

With the combination of Verizon's general distrust of Palm OS products & the new 755p being so (relatively) affordable, I highly doubt we'll ever see the Centro offered for Verizon.

I also think we'll see the launch of the unlocked GSM Centro in a few months be the beginning of the EOL period for Palm's final standalone PDAs, as Colligan & Co. will claim in an interview that smartphone pricing now rivals PDAs while offering much more functionality.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

RE: NOVa
JackG @ 1/11/2008 4:50:35 PM # Q
Yes, SeldomVisitor, numbes from Palm sure would be great. I'm rooting for them, because I'm a long time user, as well as a believer that competition means good things for us, the consumer.

And hkklife, the red is getting rare as they've sold out, but my wife has the red. It's pretty sharp, and I'd be okay with having that color, but since she already does black does better for me.

RE: NOVa
Aylons @ 1/13/2008 9:50:48 AM # Q
"nova" , in portuguese, means "new" (feminine gender).

AyloNs Hazzud
RE: NOVa
BaalthazaaR @ 1/20/2008 12:38:22 AM # Q
I blame this on a lack of sobreity. But nova is a four letter word. Maybe it is intended as such. :-D
RE: NOVa
nastebu @ 1/28/2008 1:45:33 AM # Q
"no va" in Spanish means "it doesn't go." Any Spanish speaker would read "nova" as meaning the galaxy, the same way as in English. There's a famous marketing story about how the Chevy Nova didn't sell in Latin America because of the name, but that story, according to Snopes.com, is quite false.

:-)


RE: NOVa
nastebu @ 1/28/2008 1:47:05 AM # Q
*punishes himself for not reading the rest of the thread before posting*

Reply to this comment

Nova.....like a chevy?

hgoldner @ 1/10/2008 12:33:16 PM # Q
Hopefully they won't experience the same market reaction which the Chevy Nova met with in Central America, where 'no va' means 'it doesn't go.'

Harold

RE: Nova.....like a chevy?
Poopie @ 1/10/2008 1:35:42 PM # Q
I heard this story too, did some research, and it appears that naming the product "No Go" in Spanish actually didn't impact the product sales in Spanish speaking companies:

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

At least they didn't name it "Nova 4" - that would mean "No go (Spanish) death (Chinese)"


USR Palm Pilot 1000 --> Palm Pilot Professional --> TRG SuperPilot --> Palm IIIc --> Palm V --> Palm M505 --> Palm M515 --> Tungsten T|2 --> Treo 600 --> LifeDrive --> iPhone

RE: Nova.....like a chevy?
lobotomic @ 1/10/2008 2:57:32 PM # Q
As a native Spanish speaker, I find the "Nova" == "No va" == "No Go" relation so extremely lame that I cannot believe it may have influenced market reaction in the slightest measure. To any Spanish speaker, whether he or she ever heard of exploding stars, "Nova" sounds almost like "Nueva" which means "New" and is in fact exactly the same latin word, only slightly distorted through the centuries.

That's unlike, I have to say, the "Mitsubishi Pajero", which in Spain sounds so incredibly rude, they had to change the name here to "Mitsubishi Montero". And, believe me, we're no sissies that recoil at the use of strong language or gratuitous nudity even in public TV, but a car called "Mitsubishi Wanker" is just too much.

RE: Nova.....like a chevy?
robera @ 1/10/2008 3:22:02 PM # Q
Here in Brazil the name "Nova" means "New". So it is good around here.
Also the name "Centro" means "Center" here :)

RE: Nova.....like a chevy?
LiveFaith @ 1/10/2008 9:48:27 PM # Q
I was thinkin' more along the lines of "Glacier".

Pat Horne
RE: Nova.....like a chevy?
hoodoo @ 1/11/2008 10:41:29 AM # Q
ah yes...while we're on the topic of marketing disasters (potential ones at least)...

The Buick LaCrosse is sold in Canada as the Allure, because it was discovered that "LaCrosse" is slang in Quebecois French for masturbation...

at least this one was caught beforehand (if the Nova legend is true), and should avoid becoming part of the urban myth fabric.

Reply to this comment

Nova, huh?

SeldomVisitor @ 1/10/2008 12:41:35 PM # Q
Like a brilliant star exploding into so much space debris.

RE: Nova, huh?
freakout @ 1/11/2008 1:58:47 AM # Q
^^ And unleashing a shockwave that annihilates everything in its path. :P
Reply to this comment

Zeppelin, huh?

SeldomVisitor @ 1/10/2008 12:43:09 PM # Q
> ...tested internally on an unreleased future Palm device code-named Zeppelin...

Yes, like that rather famous one that...you know...crashed and burned?

RE: Zeppelin, huh?
reidme @ 1/10/2008 1:40:55 PM # Q
It will likely go over like a Led balloon.

RE: Zeppelin, huh?
KDSer @ 1/10/2008 10:19:29 PM # Q
tested on Zeppelin???

RE: Zeppelin, huh?
purplerain @ 1/15/2008 12:47:42 AM # Q
palm codenames its windows mobile devices after classic rockers. the original one was codenamed hendrix

Reply to this comment

Zeppelin

Poopie @ 1/10/2008 2:04:17 PM # Q
< blockquote>...future Palm device code-named Zeppelin

Look at the Zeppelin wikipedia page and see how many times crash, die, and fail are mentioned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin

fave:

The steampunk genre of science fiction has adopted the zeppelin as something of a mascot. They are representative of general steampunk themes with their grand scale, Victorian aesthetics, and failure to be put into common use.

Colligan: Resign!

Reply to this comment

Booo Hisss

OrionNE @ 1/10/2008 2:06:07 PM # Q
Now this sounds good.

A "NO GO" Operating System on a Crash and Burn Device.

I feel really good about Palm now...



Reply to this comment

For all those making fun of the Nova name...

jeffhoward001 @ 1/10/2008 4:19:49 PM # Q
I hope you all have high paying jobs, and very rewarding hobbies... Otherwise, one would be tempted to think you DON'T HAVE A LIFE when you spend your time making fun of project names.

Go make some money, or do something interesting... I'm sure you're already a waste of space in real life, so do the virtual world a favor, and stop transcending your waste of space onto the poor helpless internet.

Hey look! I can post clever puns on internet forums too! Ya for me...

(Just to separate myself from the interweb trash, this is roughly my 3rd post on PIC since July... I only save my posting for thoughtful replies, and the occasional flaming of internet-*&ckwads)

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-34640480252896_1981_141427


Tungsten T --> Palm TX --> Foleo-mini??(like an LD-II with a small attached keyboard??)

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
mikecane @ 1/10/2008 4:25:22 PM # Q
>>>Ya for me...

Um, that would be Yay or Yeah.

No high-paying job you have, see we.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
mikecane @ 1/10/2008 4:26:16 PM # Q
>>>I only save my posting for thoughtful replies

And this one you'll blame on a transient aneurysm, maybe?

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
SeldomVisitor @ 1/10/2008 4:26:48 PM # Q
He probably came up with the "NOVA" internal name for POS 2.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
jeffhoward001 @ 1/10/2008 4:30:17 PM # Q
Hey, you've gotta rumble with the rif-raf every once and a while to remember who you really are ;-)

Tungsten T --> Palm TX --> Foleo-mini??(like an LD-II with a small attached keyboard??)
RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
freakout @ 1/10/2008 7:25:22 PM # Q
Making fun of Nova? Stupid. Totally agreed. I think it sounds kinda cool. Novas are awesomely cool, powerful natural phenomena - basically a star exploding after being mugged by another star. (Treo vs. iPhone? :P Shutup fanboys, I'm joking.)

Making fun of Zeppelin? Not stupid. When you hear the word 'zeppelin', what's the first thing you think? Me, I think "Hindenburg", quickly followed by "crash", "burn", "flaming wreck", "tragedy", "death" and George Costanza yelling "That's gotta hurt!" at a movie theater... surely someone at Palm thought of that too?

Oh well. Shakespeare said it best: "A rose by any other name..."

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
dkirker @ 1/10/2008 10:08:10 PM # Q
Am I the only one who's first thought is "Led Zeppelin" when "Zeppelin" is mentioned? I don't even listen to that genre of music.

Now, if I recall, they are pretty well known group.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
sungod @ 1/11/2008 3:54:19 AM # Q
I don't know why your all getting so worked up over a code name.
Do you really think M$ was ever going to stick with the name Longhorn instead of Vista?
GM calls there development center Skunkworks.
The only Code name I know of that has made it to final release is Bluetooth.

Att Palm:
Foleo = Smartphone companion
T|X = Dumbphone companion
If you think a Foleo will sell and a PDA wont you're out of your mind.
SunGod aka Luigi(AusPUG)
RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
SeldomVisitor @ 1/11/2008 6:26:03 AM # Q
We are having fun with the PALM internal names because we have nothing else to have fun.

No info == no fun!

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
BaalthazaaR @ 1/11/2008 9:44:18 AM # Q
Do you really think M$ was ever going to stick with the name Longhorn instead of Vista?
GM calls there development center Skunkworks.

1) Longhorn never survived. They hacked off big chunks and made it Shorthorn which they released.
2) I believe that Lockheed's development center is called skunkworks.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
CFreymarc @ 1/11/2008 2:06:33 PM # Q
You are so right here. I swear that over half of the people posting here at doing it alternating between the break room of Best Buy and their parent's basements. A retail floor slob does not make an expert of "the market."

I don't know how many times I have walked the floor with a few fellow Palm-folk listening to the floor dweebs. We wonder how much of their talk is their opinion and how much of it is a line they practiced as instructed by their floor manager. While I have to say, yes, 2007 wasn't the best year for Palm, it was not its worst.

I agree with the one that started this post. Most of you need to go back to school, get your degree, move out of your parent's basements and start dating. Then when you have a life beyond a video games and porn, your opinion may be worth something.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
SeldomVisitor @ 1/11/2008 2:24:25 PM # Q
Nice first post!

Giggle.

RE: For all those making fun of the Nova name...
twrock @ 1/11/2008 8:26:28 PM # Q
Nice first post!

Looks like the inane blathering in the news forum has gotten sufficiently obnoxious to even draw the lurkers out in disgust. They've got a point.


"twrock is infamous around these parts"
(from my profile over at Brighthand due to my negative 62 rep points rating)
Reply to this comment
Start a New Comment Thread Top View Full Comment Thread
Achtung! Only the first 50 comments are displayed within the article.
    Click here for the full story discussion page...

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: