Tuesday, September 27, 2005

How Palm Lost It - Forbes.com

How Palm Lost It - Forbes.com: "Despite its defection to Windows, the folks at Palm say the company is still committed to the Palm OS and will continue to release new devices running both Windows and Palm software. But there's already considerable distance between Palm and its namesake OS. In 2003, Palm spun off its OS division into PalmSource, and earlier this month Japanese software company Access bought the company for $324 million in cash.
But Access' interest might not even have been the Palm OS. By acquiring PalmSource, the company gained Linux development resources for mobile devices in the U.S., France and China, including those from PalmSource's recent acquisition of China MobileSoft, a Linux software firm. It's possible the software firm could discontinue the OS, deciding instead to take the company's technology and engineers in new directions.
And even if the OS does survive, it'll likely be relegated even further into niche markets. 'It's likely that since PalmSource was just taken out, one place the Palm OS would go would be low-end phones and PDAs,' says Kalla.
Game over. Microsoft wins. "

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