Palm to Develop Its Own Linux Platform

The saga of the Palm operating system continues, with CEO Ed Colligan announcing the company will combine its Garnet OS with a new Linux-based platform later this year.

The tangled saga of Palm’s operating system is going to get twistier, if an announcement at an analyst meeting in New York by Palm CEO Ed Colligan is any indication: later this year, the company plans to combine its existing Garnet OS with a new Linux-based platform. Switching to Linux would mean that Palm would once again have its own operating system—even though late last year it managed to secure a perpetual license to the Garnet OS, which it originally developed, from Access Systems Americas. The deal includes the right to modify the Garnet source code.

Industry reaction to the news has generally been positive: mobile developers have been increasingly turning to Linux as a way to bring new communications services to mobile devices, and the open source nature of the operating system brings more developers and more creativity to the platform. LInux-based devices could tap into a range of Internet, media, and Web services which Palm would otherwise have to build from the ground up.

Although essentially no details are available, speculation is that Linux will replace the core of Palm’s Garnet OS, while user interface and functionality elements will remain nearly identical. A Linux-based OS would most likely debut in a refresh of Palm’s line of Treo smartphones; Colligan’s comments indicate the first products should appear later in 2007.

At the analyst meeting, Palm representatives categorically refused to comment on persistent rumors Palm is positioning itself for sale to another company.