PalmSource Aims To Unify Smartphone Market

Like a teenager with a new cell phone, PalmSource is
wasting no time calling all of its friends around for a party.

Case in point: AMD. Less than a month since the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based
PDA software maker spun off from its hardware twin palmOne, PalmSource
Monday launched its Palm Powered MobileWorld program. The goal is to connect
mobile operators, infrastructure providers and software developers in a
wireless ecosystem that takes advantage of the growing smartphone market.

The program consists of two key elements. First, PalmSource wants to make
the Palm OS the most service-ready platform for smart mobile devices. The
company said it plans making that come true with a combination of
collaborations and use the feedback to improve the OS. Secondly, PalmSource
said it would work with mobile operators to create a catalog for
over-the-air (OTA) delivery to Palm Powered smartphones. Powered by
PalmGear, the directory includes more than 20,000 software titles currently
available on its PDAs. Smartphone shoppers can try, purchase and download
the titles including business apps and games like Bejeweled, MobileDB,
SplashMoney and SplashData.

“Palm Powered MobileWorld is a key strategic initiative designed to
ignite the growth of the new wireless Palm economy,” PalmSource president
and CEO David Nagel said in a statement. “We believe that this program
creates a tremendous revenue-generating opportunity for mobile operators,
infrastructure providers and software developers. Palm Powered MobileWorld
also makes it easier for customers to purchase wireless Palm OS applications
over-the-air from their Palm Powered smartphone, changing the whole user
experience of buying and installing applications on smart mobile devices.”

The company said its refocused effort on smartphones makes sense.
According to IDC’s 2002 survey, the converged mobile device market is the
fastest growing, revenue-producing segment of the phone market.

No
stranger
to the smartphone space PalmSource’s goal is to become the
platform leader in the smartphone market. But similar to its PDA
competition, PalmSource will have to fight off advances by Microsoft and convert the large install base in Europe and Asia away from
Symbian.

Hopefully helping the cause, PalmSource Monday said Sprint has joined its MobileWorld program as a charter mobile operator
partner. The partnership will manifest itself as Sprint’s Palm Powered PCS
Vision Smart Device customers. Currently, the Palm Powered PCS Vision smart
devices power the Handspring (now merged with palmOne) Treo 600 and the
SPH-i500 by Samsung. As a charter member, Sprint said it would collaborate
with PalmSource in several areas including cooperative marketing and
rallying the more than 275,000-strong Palm OS developer community to meet
the needs of key vertical markets.

PalmSource also said it has licensed its operating system to PerComm. The
Massachusetts-based firm makes ReFLEX advanced messaging devices and FLEX
and POCSAG 1-way devices. Through the agreement, PerComm said it plans to
mix the Palm OS 5 to create new smart mobile devices that operate on
wireless networks including ReFLEX, GSM and CDMA.

“We expect that partnering with PalmSource will open up new market
opportunities and expand our current product offerings to include feature
phones on the GSM network, while encouraging the development of new software
applications,” said PerComm president and CEO Edmond Fung.

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