Palm OS 5 On Track for June Launch

Early last month, PalmSource announced that the final version of OS 5 would be sent to the licensees in late spring or early summer. Yesterday, company executives said they expect to ship the final version in June, according to CW360. While not a tremendously exciting announcement, it's a good sign that, almost two months later, the next generation of the Palm OS is on schedule.

Neither Steve Sakoman, chief technology officer for PalmSource nor David Nagel, the CEO, would comment on when the first models running OS 5 would be available.

Last month, Palm Inc. promised to have handhelds running the new operating system out by the fall. Neither Sony nor Handspring has officially committed to releasing OS 5 handhelds, though both companies have spoken very positively about the new operating system.

At the heart of the new OS is its support for ARM-based processors. It isn't locked into to chips from any single company and the OS has been demonstrated running on processors from Intel, Texas Instruments, Motorola, and others. Palm itself has chosen TI to power its OS 5 handhelds.

Despite the change to a new processor, OS 5 handhelds will still be able to run a large majority of current apps thanks to an emulator. According to Mr. Sakoman, about 80% of current apps should make the jump, which, according to him, is about the same number as made the switch to OS 4.

PalmSource is the Palm subsidiary responsible for the development of the Palm OS.

Thanks to Dennis and wim huizinga for the tip. -Ed

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Waiting for OS 6

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 8:57:34 AM #
Well OS 5 is good and all but it's OS 6 that will be innovative.

I'll keep my Palm Vx until OS 6 comes out.

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 9:02:19 AM #
I'm going to wait until OS 7, so that they can get all of the bugs and software incompatibilities worked out from OS 6. - Have Lame PDA, Will Wait

Infoworld on shipping Palm OS in June
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 10:49:11 AM #
RE: Waiting for OS 6
james_sorenson @ 3/29/2002 12:31:02 PM #
Please tell me that the original poster was joking, right? Well, I'll admit that OS5 doesn't appear to host many new changes to OS4, but it's the hardware and system-calls that make the difference. Developers are going to have a field-day at what they will be able to do with the new system. We'll see some real games, and some powerful database/office applications. However, like the PocketPC curse, this is going to chew up RAM. Nobody better even think about releasing a PalmOS5 unit without memory expansion.

Oops...fell off topic. Anyhow, it's the 3rd-party applications that will be released that will make me upgrade.

-------
James Sorenson

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 1:38:26 PM #
> Developers are going to have a field-day at what they will be able to do with the new system. We'll see some real games, and some powerful database/office applications.

You're surely joking. The API is virtually the same. As for a "field-day", we still have to wait for OS 6.0.

And we already have "real games" and powerful office applications: Wordsmith, Docs to Go. If you want more "real games" get a Gameboy Advance. I have one and it's great.

Please tame your expectations. If you want more, either use an ultralite laptop or a PocketPC. I will stick with my Palm m515.

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 1:55:49 PM #
> You're surely joking. The API is virtually the same. As for a "field-day", we still have to wait for OS 6.0.

Many API's, when given 10x-100x the performance, bring a much larger class of applications up to an acceptable performance level. That's area is where the "field-day" will occur.

RIght now, the PalmOS application field is littered with a lot of quirky and ugly apps. That's because the people with a good eye for appearance and user experience are very rarely the same ones who are good at counting cycles on a relatively slow 68k.

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 2:46:38 PM #
Sure the OS5-only software will be great but that will take some time. The first generation OS 5 handhelds will surely be obsolete before some of these new applications are out. Think about it. What developer is going to write software that only runs on OS 5 handhelds the during the first year?

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 2:54:00 PM #
Palm has left the door wide open...

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 5:01:59 PM #
It should be called OS 4.6arm, instead of 5.0

RE: Waiting for OS 6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/30/2002 6:34:51 AM #
umm..i will buy NR70V than wait for OS 6..

RE: Waiting for OS 6
Palm_Otaku @ 3/30/2002 5:34:37 PM #
There's some good factual info on OS5 at: http://www.palmos.com/platform/os5/ for anyone that's interested.

New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 9:26:23 AM #
June? I think we would all be wise to wait and base a purchasing decision on new information about OS5 when it hits.

New devices time scale.


RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 9:42:52 AM #
Assuming the hardware is on track for the Fall or Winter, then, one has to wonder whether YOUR favorite applications will be compatible. I have a many apps that, if incompatible, would not make OS 5 worth having. Some of these are niche apps that have not been modified by the author for over a year. Think about MathLib. The last update was about three years ago.

Just think about how long it has taken for many apps to incorporate VFS and that was supposedly planned way in advance.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:04:30 AM #
The NR-series devices weren't worth getting in any case.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:34:45 AM #
<< The NR-series devices weren't worth getting in any case. >>

I agree. They're cool and all, but coolness is not worth a minimum $500. Especially not when there will be new devices, at least as cool, with more functionality, and all available by the end of the year. The only people who buy, AND KEEP (a very important point), the NR series will be the hard-core gadget enthusiasts.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:39:21 AM #
For some 'acceptable sacrifice' in functionality (yes, this is subjective - but works for me).
The NR70V means not having to carry around three separate items:
1) Digital Camera
2) MP3 Player
3) PDA

The battery can be an issue on long flights, but I am working on some solar cells.

Also, if you are a registered Sony developer, you pay much less than list price for it.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:48:10 AM #
it's not even a digital camera, my $20 webcam can take higher resolution than the NR.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 12:37:16 PM #
How to register for a Sony Developer?


RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 7:03:38 PM #
>>The NR70V means not having to carry around three >>separate items:
>>1) Digital Camera
>>2) MP3 Player
>>3) PDA

On the entire planet Earth there are probably only five people carrying around these three separate items at one time. All five read PIC. Three will buy the new Sony Clie'. One will get the veto from the wife, and later divorce. The fifth will get run over by a bus crossing the street to get to CompUSA. Life will go on. Those of us who actually use a pda in making a living will wait for OS6 because, in reality, we don't really care about the operating system, and waiting for OS6 is just the excuse we need to put off wasting $400 on another handheld computer that we don't actually need because the one we have works just fine.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
Islander @ 3/29/2002 7:26:56 PM #
LOL

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:51:32 PM #
>> On the entire planet Earth there are probably only five people carrying around these three separate items at one time. All five read PIC. Three will buy the new Sony Clie'. One will get the veto from the wife, and later divorce. The fifth will get run over by a bus crossing the street to get to CompUSA. Life will go on. Those of us who actually use a pda in making a living will wait for OS6 because, in reality, we don't really care about the operating system, and waiting for OS6 is just the excuse we need to put off wasting $400 on another handheld computer that we don't actually need because the one we have works just fine. <<

You forgot to mention that the 3 PIC readers who do buy the Clie will post ENDLESSLY to PIC, claim ad nauseum about the apparent superiority of the new Clie, and acting like we're all neanderthals because we've got better things to do with our money. One will cuss like a 13-year-old who just discovered the shock value of profanity and wants to appear cool; one will use the phrase "reality distortion field" when criticizing for keeping our current Palms even though they're low-res, and one will try to act like he knows everything about computers.

RE: New Clies NR70s not worth getting now?
popko @ 3/30/2002 5:47:13 AM #
If those "PIC readers who do buy the Clie" want to post "ENDLESSLY to PIC" than just let them be. They won't take up much bandwith anyway. Infact, they will bring in more hits for Ed.

What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 10:23:52 AM #
That's the big question. I think the answer is basically nada.

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
Ed @ 3/29/2002 10:43:02 AM #
It is more a question of what can you do with an ARM-based Palm as compared to a Dragonball-based one. When I was at the PalmSource conference last month, I spoke with several developers, all of whom were excited about the possibilities of the ARM-based handhelds. Expect to see games, media players, and other apps that take advantage of the new processors out not too long after the OS 5 handhelds are released.

Nevertheless, if all you want to do is keep track of your contacts, or even just do word processing, you will still be happy with OS 4.1.

---
News Editor

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
sub_tex @ 3/29/2002 10:48:22 AM #
well if you don't care about the speed increase or multimedia capabilities (and you can give a crap about the extra security features) then you are probably right.

It'll be more apparent (i think) in a year or so when the new apps you want will only run on ARM.

Sort of like die hard DOS people holding off on buying windows 95/98/2k. Sure they had tons of DOS games and apps that they loved........but now they couldn't use them.

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:12:22 AM #
The most fundamental features of any OS are pretty closely tied together with the hardware they run on. That's one reason why different machines like Macs, PCs, Suns, etc. all traditionally use different OSs. A move to new hardware for Palm is a good time to upgrade the OS, as they'd probably have to make big changes to OS4 just to maintain current functionality (without adding anything) on the ARMs anyway.

Conversely though, the new OS doesn't make a lot of difference for anybody with existing Palm hardware. Just like how support for 16-bit color and memory cards (in OS4.1?) doesn't matter to anybody with a monochrome non-expandable device, much of the stuff in OS5 is only pertinent to the new machines.

So Ed is right, it's not so much about whether you should buy the new OS, but rather whether you should buy a new Palm. And as of now, that's kind of a leap-of-faith thing. :)

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:38:24 AM #
While OS5 will not be a major upgrade from OS4.x, the new devices will have two important features:
1) ARM-based processors
2) upgradeability(sp?)

So buying an OS5 machine when it's available won't be a wasted purchase, because you can upgrade to OS6 once that's released. However, OS6 might have capabilities that your OS5 hardware can't take advantage of, so it is, indeed a leap-of-faith, somewhat. One would hope that the hardware manufacturers would anticipate this and build it into the OS5 hardware, but sometimes our hopes are dashed.

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 12:36:08 PM #
So it sounds like we should all wait for OS6 before upgrading because by then:

1. Hopefully, all the bugs will be worked out.
2. There will actually be Apps that fully take advantage of the hardware.
3. We should see a "new look" better interface.
4. We will be sure OS6 Apps will work correctly.

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 12:59:11 PM #
OS5 supports much faster hardware. The difference will be like upgrading from a 25 MHz 386 or Mac IIcx to a 100-266 MHz Pentium MMX or PowerMac; some new apps and games rewritten for OS5 will run around 10- to 100 times faster (e.g. much faster than by just the clock scaling factor).

Some of the main beneficiaries will be rewritten action games and web browser type applications. Ever try to run a web brower on an old 386?

OS5 will also give you standardized hires support, multivoice sound, and better built-in security. The built-in PIM apps will look pretty much the same.

RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
skytraveler @ 3/29/2002 1:29:24 PM #
Not to take away from the earlier "jokes" about OS5 vs OS4, but it all comes down to this: Buy a device based on what you want to do with it. If you wait until something better comes out, you'll be waiting forever. If OS4 based devices do what you need them to do, than go for it.

The SkyTraveler
RE: What can I do with OS5 that I can't do with OS4.1?
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/30/2002 11:06:29 AM #
>Nevertheless, if all you want to do is keep track of
>your contacts, or even just do word processing, you
>will still be happy with OS 4.1.

Ed,

If that's all I did with my Sony S320 I'd have chucked it into the kitchen junk drawer months ago ;-)

Palm leading to create PDA Profile for J2ME

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 10:45:56 AM #
RE: Palm leading to create PDA Profile for J2ME
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 10:57:44 AM #
PDAP work has been going on for well over a year now, so it is surprising that they are calling that breaking news. When it gets to public review, that'll be news. It won't surprise me if it is even supported on pre-OS5 devices as well though.

Depending on how much RAM the new OS5 Palms have, I wouldn't be surprised to see something more substantial like a Personal Java implementation on that platform.

RE: Palm leading to create PDA Profile for J2ME
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 11:03:17 AM #
I notice that a lot of companies who were skeptic about Bluetooth are now sneaky jumping on the Bluetooth bandwagon. RIM for example has said (a year ago) that "Bluetooth was 2 late" (?). CEO Jim Balsillie of Research in Motion said "Expect Blackberry devices with colour screens, voice recognition, voice messaging, Bluetooth-enabled earbuds, hands-free microphones and speakers and a media engine that will display content and images like a PC."

RE: Palm leading to create PDA Profile for J2ME
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 1:38:04 PM #
I was refering to the jsr82:java/bluetooth spec. message that was posted awhile back. RIM is one of the members of the jsr82:java/bluetooth expert group. It seems that the post has been deleted? It must be. I think it was a little off topic, although it was an interesting post.

c'est la vie

RE: Palm leading to create PDA Profile for J2ME
I.M. Anonymous @ 5/9/2002 2:54:26 AM #
Can I run my J2ME applications on Palm OS 5 simulator ?

Flashing OS6

big_raji @ 3/29/2002 12:15:03 PM #
If I buy a Palm OS5 handheld in a few months, are there any hard facts out there right now that tell me if I can or cannot flash it with OS6 later?

---
If you sing in french while hopping on one foot, the evil birds won't come out of your bathroom mirror.
RE: Flashing OS6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 1:42:03 PM #
The jury is out, but past behavior by Palm and company indicates that you will have to buy a new PDA to take advantage of OS 6.

Personally, I will wait. My Palm Vx does everything I want now. I can skip OS 5 as the ARM processors really dont' bring anything to the table. Yes, it will be faster but c'mon datebk is fast enough already. And shaving off a microsecond here or there is moot. There are people who will need the horsepower, but the majority of us can wait until OS 6.

RE: Flashing OS6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 2:02:17 PM #
> past behavior by Palm and company indicates that you
> will have to buy a new PDA to take advantage of OS 6.

What past behaviour would that be??? That Palm provides upgrades for any Palm III or later device to the current OS 4.1? With the right upgrade hardware, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the old original PalmPilots can even run OS 4.1.

RE: Flashing OS6
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/29/2002 4:37:51 PM #
Any of the current crop of devices running OS4-something or below won't be upgradeable to OS5 or higher, but the ARM-based PalmOS devices that include flash ROM are supposed to be upgradeable to OS6.

For what it's worth, I've got an old pilot 5000 with the 2MB upgrade kit that I flashed upgraded to OS3.5.1 a few months back. I'll have to check it out, but I think that I could upgrade it to OS4.1.

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