SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Operating system company PalmSource Inc. announced it teamed with Linux vendor MontaVista Software. Under the new partnership, MontaVista will join PalmSource’s Palm OS promotional organization, while PalmSource will sign up for MontaVista’s own Linux promotional group.
PalmSource’s move acknowledges the growing interest in Linux within the mobile-phone industry.
PalmSource said the partnership provides further evidence for its intention to develop a version of the Palm OS running on top of Linux technology. However, it’s unclear whether PalmSource will use MontaVista’s version of Linux. PalmSource officials were not immediately available for comment.
PalmSource has seen dwindling interest in its Palm operating system. Indeed, the company recently sold the Palm trademark to Treo smart-phone vendor Palm Inc., which was formerly called PalmOne Inc. To drum up interest in the Palm OS, PalmSource has discussed plans to develop a version of the platform running on open-source Linux technology.
MontaVista sells Linux software to a variety of vendors, including mobile-phone makers.
