Palm Announces a Press Event for CES

New Palm Inc LogoPalm Inc. has just begun send out invitations to a press event to be held during CES 2009. The vaguely worded announcement email invites recipients to "Come to CES to see all that Palm New-ness you've been waiting for." The full invite is posted after the break.

The invitation only event will be held at 11:00 a.m. Pacific at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show. While nothing is certain at this point, it is quite reasonable to assume this event could be the first public unveiling of Palm's long awaited new operating system.

Palm's "Next-Generation" operating system is the lynchpin of the companies turnaround strategy. Palm Executives have repeatedly stated that development on the new OS has been on track for a end of 2008 completion, with next generation handsets to follow in the first half of 2009.

Palm q1fy09

Very little, if any, specific details have been released or talked about the new platform. Earlier this year PalmInfocenter learned that the internal code name for the project was "Nova". It is widely expected to be based on Linux given Palms prior Foleo endeavor.

Palm CEO Ed Colligan previously remarked that the new OS "will restore Palm's design and innovation leadership position." He has also said this summer that the new software combined with the new "game changing hardware" designed for it will usher in a "new era for Palm."

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Only a week late!

SeldomVisitor @ 12/10/2008 11:21:32 AM # Q
Giggle.

RE: Only a week late!
dagwud @ 12/10/2008 12:42:23 PM # Q
Depends on your calendar. New Year's Day on a Julian calendar corresponds with the 14th on a Gregorian calendar. (N.B. Gregorian is what most of us use in Europe and North America)

I'll take a late resolution if it shows me something worth waiting for. But that danged Android phone out of Australia looks pretty darned sweet. http://apcmag.com/breaking_first_australian_android_phone_revealed.htm



-
PalmPilot Pro (1997) -> III (1998) -> Vx (1999) -> m500 (2001) -> m515 (2002) -> Tx (2007)

RE: Only a week late!
SeldomVisitor @ 12/10/2008 12:54:43 PM # Q
Actually, as noted on a different board - having a "presentation" about "Palm newness" is not necessarily the same as an intimate revealing of all the intricacies of a new OS. They easily could have a slide show like they did before that just is a bunch of sweet nothings...

We'll see!

And maybe on the 18th they'll say a little more! (No, I doubt that, too, but one can hope!)

Reply to this comment

Its about time!

palmit @ 12/10/2008 11:47:00 AM # Q
Sounds good! First step on path back?

RE: Its about time!
SelonPi @ 12/10/2008 11:58:00 AM # Q
We shall see. I've learned to not hold my breath when it comes to Palm making announcements. If this is all for a "new" Centro in a color they haven't used yet... Grrr... I'm hoping with all I've got that Palm is really on their way back north of six feet under since my Treo 755p is only going to last so long.

RE: Its about time!
cstamper @ 12/10/2008 12:40:40 PM # Q
...about time for the new Zebra Striped Centro! Just in time for the Holidays!

We can only hope...

http://tinyurl.com/2ooncg

RE: Its about time!
freakout @ 12/10/2008 1:19:55 PM # Q
We can only hope, palmit...
RE: Its about time!
LiveFaith @ 12/10/2008 5:31:31 PM # Q
Biggest announce since the Foleo. Should be interesting.

Pat Horne
RE: Its about time!
joad @ 12/10/2008 6:07:42 PM # Q
Purple Fooleo II. No doubt.

I'm not holding my breath. Watching Palm is like rooting for the Chicago Cubs.


Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.

RE: Its about time!
Gekko @ 12/10/2008 6:33:04 PM # Q

Blago?

Reply to this comment

This is it...

grimpeur @ 12/10/2008 1:35:13 PM # Q
Sink or Swim for Palm.

I hope it is the latter. Given the economy at the moment and the investment they must have made in Nova, this has to be the winner.

Reply to this comment

It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again

Gekko @ 12/10/2008 1:39:15 PM # Q
RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
SeldomVisitor @ 12/10/2008 1:52:47 PM # Q
Nah...as someone commented elsewhere, the last time an "exciting announcement" was going to be made out of Palm it was the...Fooleo...

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/10/2008 1:59:39 PM # Q
RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/10/2008 2:23:46 PM # Q
RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
jeffhoward001 @ 12/11/2008 10:28:20 AM # Q
At the risk of sounding like a zealot, the Foleo was a great idea, and one that we will DEFINITELY see again. Having a stake in a medium-sized business with limited budget, as much as I would have loved for Palm to make the Foleo a reality and see the price come down with some economies of scale in production, I think they made the right decision. The needed figure out their core smartphone business line before bleeding themselves to death with supporting a new UMPC OS.

I'm sure that was a terrible decision to have to make, and a lot of friendships/partnerships within Palm were damaged by it. I bet their finance guys saw the quarter-over-quarter losses coming down the pipe, and decided that side-tracking their linux devs with patches for the Foleo probably would have caused a serious delay in the next-gen OS release.

Mark my words, we will see the Foleo again, and I have a feeling it will be the "full" version this time, as opposed to the email-only-then-announce-some-third-party-apps version.

- Jeff

Tungsten T -> Palm TX -> TX & Centro (Good combo so far!)

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
PacManFoo @ 12/11/2008 10:59:33 AM # Q
We have already seen the Foleo again. Dell, Acer, HP all now have mini notebooks. The overall idea of a mini notebook was good, it was just the outdated functionality and price of the Foleo that was it's undoing. For what Palm wanted for limited functionality you can now get a mini laptop with full functionality for the same price. Another problem is the OS that Palm wanted to use in the foleo. Linux may work fine in a smartphone or PDA but when it comes to a Laptop (mini or otherwise) people want Windows. So the Foleo was set up to fail from the beginning. Can Palm compete with the HP and Dells of the world when it comes to a device like this? Probably not. It may not be in their best interest to waste any more resources on this type of device. It would be a hard sell for most IT departments to implement and would end up a very niche product.

Times are much different from when the Palm Pilot first was introduced and they could get away with using an aged processor and small amounts of RAM. It's actually quite amazing how long they were able to milk that DragonBall.

The last known classic PDA user.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
BaalthazaaR @ 12/11/2008 11:25:58 AM # Q
I would have at least taken a look at the Fooleo if the price had been lower and if it hadn't been so handicapped.
RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
dandrade @ 12/11/2008 11:55:58 AM # Q
I agree. Palm was actually ahead of the game with the Foleo. It could have worked. Look at ASUS - Linux OS and it's popular. Dell and Lenovo are offering Linux on their netbooks too. Palm had the right idea, it just wasn't fully developed.

Personally, I think the iPhone is an overhyped, flashy, piece of fluff. Yes, it has a great web browser and media player. But, it has NO real PIM or business functions. Heck, Palm Memo's is the most useful PDA tool ever. Especially with Palm Desktop to allow you to easily enter new Memo's. Look at the forums for Blackberry and the iPhone. There are tons of questions about "is anyone going to develop Memo's like Palm has" for the Blackberry or iPhone. There are people who say that they would love the iPhone for the web and music, but can't do other things with it.

A friend of mine has an iPhone. It cost him $300. I have a Centro. It cost me $50 after rebate and Verizon new every two. We sat down and everything he did with his iPhone, I could do with my Centro. Yes, the Palm OS user interface is boring, but who cares? Then, I pissed him off when I checked enterprise email in a snap, watched a flash video from the web, and then used it as a remote for my DVD player.

I'm praying for Palm to come through with Nova and new devices. Otherwise, I'm going to buy a backup Centro. I can't get the functions I need from a crackberry or the iphone.

Let's pray for good things for Palm.

DA

Palm IIIxe -> Tungsten T3 -> LifeDrive -> TX -> Verizon Centro


RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/11/2008 12:53:15 PM # Q

the Fooleo wasn't ahead of anything.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
alanh @ 12/11/2008 1:05:30 PM # Q
Foleo was both ahead of and behind the times.

Ahead:

* Mini laptops/Netbooks are obviously successful and desired.
* Their industrial design was good and they went with a good keyboard and screen resoltion.
* "instant on/resume" is something that none of the netbooks have yet.

Behind:
* The asking price was way too high with full-function competitors just around the corner.
* The processor was too slow and they didn't offer full-range, light-duty functionality.

Per usual, Palm's new "top of the line" was what they should have come out with two years earlier. Foleo in 2005 would have been awesome and groundbreaking. In 2007, it would have been a laughing stock.



-alan

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
mikecane @ 12/11/2008 1:06:34 PM # Q
I would *still* have to obscenely molest a Foleo. Just to see wtf it was like to use.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
mikecane @ 12/11/2008 1:08:08 PM # Q
A word got dropped there. Too lazy to decide which one where. Fill it in!

Like imagining the Foleo in person. *maniacal cackle*

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
SeldomVisitor @ 12/11/2008 1:09:32 PM # Q
> ..."instant on/resume" is something that none of the netbooks have yet.

According to a poster who convincingly claimed to have worked on the Fooleo, the Fooleo was "instant on/resume" ONLY if the application running on the device was specially programmed to allow "instant on/resume".

That is to say, The Fooleo was "instant on/resume" only via smoke-n-mirrors.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/11/2008 1:10:56 PM # Q

1. Fooleo WAS NOT a Mini laptops/Netbook. It was a dumb terminal.
2. Fooleo industrial design was nothing new.
3. Fooleo "instant on/resume" is an irrelevant apples and oranges when compared to a real netbook.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/11/2008 1:12:36 PM # Q
>I would *still* have to obscenely molest a Foleo. Just to see wtf it was like to use.

your cheap thrills are not worth the $10,000,000+ financial charge and opportunity cost lost to Palm.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
madmaxmedia @ 12/11/2008 1:37:19 PM # Q
"Can Palm compete with the HP and Dells of the world when it comes to a device like this? Probably not."

Which begs the question- just who can Palm compete with these days?

Maybe they can get into the electronic dictionary market or something like that...

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
mikecane @ 12/11/2008 5:54:21 PM # Q
There is room for a 5"-6" color touchscreen wireless device the size of the jetBook or the Sony Reader.
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/micro-fondle-ectaco-jetbook-ebook-reader/

No one - NO ONE - has gotten there yet.

If Palm does, with the right software, UI, CPU power, built-in storage capacity, and battery life, it could be MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR WIN.
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/are-ebook-reading-devices-doomed/

I mean Make Apple Throw Up In Its Mouth Major Win.

Scare The Eff Out Of Sony And Amazon Major Win.

Palm has eReader and MobiPocket and probably still some loyal devs (the same who lined up for Foleo and probably got reimbursed to *stay* loyal). eReader and MobiPocket sews up a good deal of eBooks. And wireless eBooks kills the Kindle (as Stanza on the iPhone has been doing by a 4-to-1 margin!) - and seriously wounds Sony too.

Pixel Qi is the wild card. Does Palm have a 5-6" color touchscreen device with a low-battery drain *Pixel Qi* screen? Rubenstein strikes me as someone who would go for an outsider NIH deal like that.

WiFi, Bluetooth (for keyboard), and SIM slot for 3G.

This would not just be Resurrect Palm From The Dead - it'd be Palm Leadership.

As long as they frikkin also provide HWR - and G1 too!

Anything other than that - FEH!

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/11/2008 6:00:02 PM # Q

sorry, most of us normal people have no use for such a ridiculous, extraneous contraption.


RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
mikecane @ 12/11/2008 6:01:35 PM # Q
Yeah, right, you doofus, until Apple comes out with the iPod Air or iPod Touchbook and once again you are chased off a playground by police for asking little girls to play with your Centro - while millions of other people are using *adult* tools.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Poopie @ 12/12/2008 1:11:43 PM # Q
Mike - it sounds like your suddenly advocating a device quite similar to the Nokia N800...

Deja Vu indeed.

RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
CFreymarc @ 12/17/2008 5:06:21 PM # Q
The Foleo concept is shipping now. Mostly under the term "net book" that is a small laptop without any moving media drives. Being used in coffee shops, campuses and soccer mom living rooms all over now.
RE: It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again
Gekko @ 12/17/2008 5:29:08 PM # Q

please stop insulting netbooks. apples and oranges.

Reply to this comment

let's hope

swieder @ 12/10/2008 2:04:22 PM # Q
Let's hope Palm shows us something exciting and real. They need to make some kind of splash at the biggest consumer electronics show of the year!

Reply to this comment

Wow

hgoldner @ 12/10/2008 2:36:40 PM # Q
"New platform development on track for completion by end of CY '08"

Might be the most exciting thing I've heard in a few.

I think we're looking at more than screen shots within a few weeks, folks.

Harold

Reply to this comment

Deal or No Deal?

mikecane @ 12/10/2008 3:05:37 PM # Q
RE: Deal or No Deal?
LiveFaith @ 12/10/2008 5:34:14 PM # Q
Quit hawking that blog Cain' and get over to the show. Make em' drag you out kicking and screaming if they don't let you fondle the Roteo!

Pat Horne
RE: Deal or No Deal?
Gekko @ 12/10/2008 5:56:32 PM # Q

i'd rather have him rant on a blog than to shoot up a McDonald's.


RE: Deal or No Deal?
joad @ 12/10/2008 6:12:39 PM # Q
I'm about 50/50 on that.


Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: Deal or No Deal?
mikecane @ 12/11/2008 1:09:01 PM # Q
Why can't I do both. Frikkin conservatives!

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