At its annual PalmSource conference for developers, Palm Inc. further embraced the ongoing wireless enablement of its devices by incorporating a broad array of wireless-related hardware and software innovations designed for its products.
Palm Chief Executive Officer Carl Yankowski illustrated his vision for the company, beginning with a range of new wireless modems and integrated wireless handhelds supporting Cellular Digital Packet Data, CDMA, GSM, general packet radio service, PDC and Mobitex.
Perhaps most significant was Palm’s licensing its operating system to Samsung Electronics. Samsung said it will introduce a CDMA handset using the PalmOS interface by the second quarter of next year. According to Dataquest Inc., Samsung is the largest manufacturer of CDMA handsets in the United States.
Yankowski’s near-term vision included remaining focused on personal information management applications, extending this PIM focus to Internet-based PIM applications through its acquisition of AnyDay.com and the MyPalm portal, extending existing Palm e-mail solutions to include message notification and instant messaging, adding voice capabilities to devices and upgrading security in two stages.
Other PalmSource announcements included:
WaveLink Corp. announced its WaveLink Studio wireless platform will support PalmOS. The platform allows developers to create applications that run on all networked PalmOS devices in familiar programming languages, such as Visual Basic, Visual C++, PowerBuilder and Delphi.
Synchrologic introduced its iMobile Suite RealSync Server for PalmOS devices. The new solution allows users to synchronize data between their Palm devices and Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes servers in an enterprise environment.
Neomar Inc. introduced version 2.0 of its wireless solution for the Palm Mobile Internet Kit. The new version enables all Palm users to access WAP content and applications alongside native Web Clipping applications.
Handango Inc., a publisher of business software for handheld computers, announced a partnership with online interactive technology developer Genisar to allow Handango customers to demo handheld software applications online without downloading or installation. Even customers currently lacking a Palm device could trial any of Handango’s applications before downloading and installing them, the company said.
HealtheTech Inc. and Palm unveiled an OEM agreement under which HealtheTech will market and sell HealtheTech-branded versions of the Palm m100 device, packaged with its DietLog software. The application is designed to let users track daily food consumption and monitor their dietary goals by day, week or month.
A recent Bear Stearns survey predicted that Palm devices remain in high demand this holiday season, with 54 percent of the retailers that responded claiming demand for Palm gear was higher than expected.
“This is very good news for Palm,” said Andrew Neff, Bear Stearns senior managing director and enterprise/PC hardware analyst. “It’s pretty clear, according to the retailers we spoke with, that Palm devices are near the top of a lot of wish lists this holiday season.”
