Palm Offers a Preview of OS 6

Devices based on PalmSource's fifth-generation operating system have only just started emerging but the company is already dropping hints about what users can expect in Palm OS 6.

One of the areas where differences will be seen is in the area of integration between the operating system and wireless telephone and data networks, said Al Wood, chief financial officer of PalmSource, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Software, Services, Internet, and Networking Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday morning.

"Clearly we view the whole wireless world as being a wonderful opportunity and marketplace," he said when asked during the Webcast conference to expand on plans for Palm OS 6.

"While we already have a very strong position in the smart phone space and related spaces that I would call the overall wireless areas, it is something that we believe our enhancements are further going to strengthen our position."

Few Details

However, specific details were not forthcoming. "As far as the particulars of exactly what we are providing, I don't want to get into that at this point," he said.

PalmSource, the company created to handle development of the Palm operating system when Palm was split in two, launched its Palm OS 5 in the second half of last year and devices based on the system have recently begun appearing. They include Sony's Clie NX70V and NX60, which were the first products out of the gate, and Palm's Tungsten T device.

The introduction of the fifth-generation OS brought support for the latest ARM-based processors to the platform in addition to displays with a 320 pixel by 320 pixel resolution, which is four times that of previous versions, and Bluetooth and wireless LAN (802.11b). Also new was 128-bit SSL encryption.