PalmOS, R.I.P.

[jducoeur]

Finally, let us take a moment to note the passing of the Palm Operating System, which has officially been put to rest.

It's being replaced by Palm's new webOS, which is trying to go head-to-head with the iPhone and which (based on positive early reports) might just stand a fighting chance. But it's worth pausing and reflecting on its predecessor, which did so much to teach everyone that a simple and halfway-intuitive UI was so useful in the mobile environment...

Comments

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Well, that blows. Now how am I supposed to port my data to my next Palm if the OS is totally different?

[asim.livejournal.com]

Move your data to something online, like Gmail Contacts; for example, I run an app called GooSync now to wirelessly sync my PalmTX Calendar & Contacts with Google. It's literally how I got from event to event at Arisia, and you know how booked that was!
From there, WebOS'll have tools to sync it all the time, and to manage various "identities", so someone's Facebook, MySapce, and Gmail all look the same to you.

(that said, I'm 90% certain they'll provide ways to port data somewhere.)

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Gah! Too much work! I really like how easy it was to simply plug a new Palm into the old data (I'm currently on my fourth, if you count my years as a Visor owner). But I guess I'm going to have to figure that out sooner or later. I knew Palm couldn't last forever.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting for this answer, too.

I suspect the answer may suck: port to Exchange, then sync off that...

All is good...

[anu3bis.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Palm (or a 3rd party developer) will have a tool to port over your contacts and data, and there's already an emulator for other systems.

I've had a Palm since the Palm Pilot Pro, felt no guilt after it died moving to the Handspring, then off to the Treo when I finally broke down and got a cell phone. I've still got the same Tricorder program I loved with the first one, and I'll finally get to use it in an upcoming LARP.

The initial reports are good, so when my Treo 650 dies, I'm planning on a Pre. My Treo fell on to jagged rocks under an Amtrak train and came up with a tiny scratch on the case. I just plain trust Palm's community and reliability.

But they better have my shopping program.

Re: All is good...

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm currently on my fourth Palm/Visor, and was hoping to stick with them, partly due to the ease of plugging a new Palm into the old data. Hell, even the silly little add-on programs work from Palm to Palm! I'm not a fan of figuring out new systems, and had selfishly been hoping that this one would last forever.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Palm OS, she was good. Until she met Phone.

Then she went bad. It was never a happy family.

I hate my Palm Treo 700p. Hate it. I just can't find a Verizon phone I think is worth money, right now.

[dsrtao]

I have no major problems with my 700p on Sprint. It would be nice if the recharger cable didn't require finicky adjustments to stay inserted (problem only developed after >1 year of use).

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I've replaced mine 5 times under insurance... And it still misbehaves from time to time.

[tpau]

wow i loved my treo 600(or wasit 650?) and i love my Centro... a lot...

[asim.livejournal.com]

I still own a Palm TX -- which saved my bacon when my laptop's Hard Drive kicked the bucket after New Years! It'll likely be years before I get rid of it, it's a nice sturdy mobile device.

I'm still wrapping my head around the people who insist you can't build powerful apps with a HTML/AJAX-based system, Sure, there's no Quake coming down the pike, but what do they think Gmail -- heck, most of Firefox -- is built on? Surely Palm is going to provide some kind of COM or COM-like calls into the OS proper in JavaScript.

Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to this. I'm hoping to attend a PreDevCamp and do some early hacking on the device...

[ckd]

It was already ailing when they started shipping Windows Mobile phones, and even more so when they killed the PDA line. My TX is still a nice piece of kit, but when the 2G iPod touch came out with almost everything I wanted from a TX replacement I finally made the switchover.

If Palm had shipped a TX2 with a slimmer (maybe metal?) case, more storage, and a few other fixes (like returning the vibrating alert from older Palms) I'd have bought one in minutes even with Garnet's many problems. If Nova were (1) going to go on PDAs as well as phones and (2) going to run Garnet software in a VM, I'd certainly have considered it.

As it is now, though, I'm pretty happy with the iPod touch. An iPhone with 32GB or more of storage, that I can buy legitimately unlocked out of the box without going to Hong Kong, is now the thing I would buy in minutes if it were available.

Pout.

[malvinareynolds.livejournal.com]

I am still loudly mourning my Newton, but, oddly, no one except other people who had them have any sympathy 8-}

Re: Pout.

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

Mourning your Newton already? They're not going to stop working until January 2010 (when the date counter rolls over)

Re: Pout.

[dsrtao]

Do you want one? I have an MP2000 sitting here... worked last time I used it, a few years ago.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Bother. I will have to start looking for a replacement for DocumentsToGo...