Palm has finally come clean and confirmed what has been widely suspected, that it will no longer develop any new traditional handheld PDAs. Word came straight from Palm CEO Ed Colligan during yesterdays conference call, but it bears mentioning again for posterity. The announcement was made practically off the cuff when asked by a financial analyst about the possibility of shutting down the handheld business.

[ via PalmInfocenter.com ]

I gave up on Palm OS a couple of years ago, but it still saddens me to see something that I was SO passionate about go out like this.

“Orange has confirmed that the Samsung smartphone running on the Access Linux Platform, originally planned for later this year, has been cancelled… The Samsung i800 was the first and only device announced that would have run the Access Linux Platform since the operating system’s release in early 2007.”

Let me make sure I have my facts straight.

1. 2002: Palm, Inc. decides to split into two companies , thus creating PalmSource which was the OS side of the Palm PDA. Later that year, PalmSource releases OS 5 aka Garnet.
2. 2004: PalmSource announces a new OS called Cobalt which, over time, no one licenses.
3. 2005: PalmSource is sold to Access who promptly drops Cobalt and instead announces their plans to release a Linux based OS called the ACCESS Linux Platform (ALP). Just rolls of the tongue doesn’t it?
4. 2007: ALP is “released” to licensees and developers.
5. 2008: [February] Samsung announces that they will release the i800 on the ALP platform for Orange (UK)
6. 2008: [July] Orange’s PR firm announces they’ve changed their mind

So if I carry my 1 and drop the sarcasm, then that would mean that it’s been six YEARS since there has been a major update to Palm OS. FFS! Even Microsoft got out an OS in less time than that.

Of course Palm, Inc., which used to be just the hardware side of things, bought up what they could from Access and has been going their own way with a Linux based OS called Palm OS II which they’re planning on releasing in 2009. I’m sure that OS will r0xors on the Treo’s circa 2003 design. By the time they get a new device out, it’ll be cool again because it’ll be retro!

I just have to hang my head in shame as I watch a product that I so dearly loved circle the drain like this.