The smart-phone operating system race continues unabated, with Palm Inc.’s PalmSource subsidiary announcing another device win for the Chinese market. Hong Kong electronics manufacturer Group Sense Ltd. said it will build a smart phone using the Palm OS for the hot Chinese device market.
The new GSL Xplore G18 will feature GPRS connections, an integrated digital camera and multimedia messaging support.
“The launch of the Xplore G18 from GSL marks an important milestone in the innovation and distribution of Palm Powered mobile devices in the China market,” said David Nagel, PalmSource’s president and chief executive officer.
Palm’s PalmSource continues to work in the market for smart phone operating systems, a business that could generate $785 million by 2008, according to research firm Allied Business Intelligence. The market research firm predicts that shipments of smart phones will grow at a rate of 105 percent during the next five years, and the developer’s market will likely support only two main players at the most.
“Symbian will continue to be demanded by OEMs providing handsets to individuals,” said Kenil Vora, an ABI analyst and author of the firm’s OS report. “Microsoft’s mobile platform for Smartphones will be received with enthusiasm by the enterprise user segment, which is already familiar with Microsoft’s other enterprise software offerings.”
