PalmSource Brings BlackBerry to Palm OS

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA -- PalmSource is kicking off its Palm OS Developer Seminar by announcing that Palm OS licensees can use Research in Motion's BlackBerry wireless e-mail software in their Palm OS handhelds and smart phones. Palm is also showing new licensees and developer tool kits at the event here this week.

Research in Motion (RIM) will bring its popular wireless e-mail software to Palm devices through the BlackBerry Connect licensing program. Users can send and receive e-mail from a wireless device and access corporate data with the software, which RIM usually combines with its own hardware.

The two companies will work together to promote the BlackBerry software to enterprise customers where the technology makes sense, said Michael Higashi, director of OS marketing for PalmSource. The announcement is not an exclusive deal for wireless e-mail software between PalmSource and RIM, he said.

Direction Shifts

As PalmSource prepares to break away from parent company Palm, it needs to increase its standing among corporate customers who are willing to pay more money than consumers for a handheld device that connects them with their corporate data, said Alex Slawsby, an IDC analyst.

Those corporate customers need a flexible handheld that can work with different e-mail providers and back-end systems, Higashi said. The BlackBerry software is just another choice that Palm OS can offer through its licensees, he said.

Palm recently announced that it would delay the expected spin-off of PalmSource until after the third quarter.

PalmSource is "moving from an OS developer sold into unconnected handhelds into one that has an eye on a connected future. The future isn't stand-alone handhelds," Slawsby said.

RIM rival Good Technology recently signed a deal to work with Dell to market its GoodLink wireless e-mail software to Dell customers. The companies also plan to work on bringing Good's wireless technology to Dell's Axim handhelds, based on Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.

Good and PalmSource also have an agreement to promote GoodLink software on Palm OS handhelds.

"Over-the-air synchronization is a hot topic right now, and it will become more so when enterprises begin to invest more in technology. These companies are jockeying for position until that happens," Slawsby said.

RIM announced the BlackBerry Connect licensing program at CTIA in March. One of the first partnerships was struck with smart-phone OS vendor Symbian.

Other Deals

Other PalmSource announcements include:

* PalmSource also announced a distribution agreement with Cellmania for thousands of applications such as games or productivity software in the PalmGear catalog. Cellmania will select Palm OS applications that users will be able to download through wireless carriers, online retailers, and the Cellmania Web site, the companies said.

* Palm OS developers have a new tool kit to help them develop applications for the operating system. The Fast ARM Solutions Toolkit will make it easier for developers to create applications for Palm OS devices that run on processors with cores developed and licensed by ARM. Palm's Tungsten and Sony's Clie are examples of devices that run ARM processor cores. Developers can download the tool kit free of charge for 60 days.

* Two new companies will license Palm OS for handheld devices. Aceeca of New Zealand will use Palm OS in its forthcoming diagnostic measurement handheld that monitors such variables as vibration or temperature in industrial settings. Tapwave's new wireless gaming handhelds will also use Palm OS when they are released in late 2003.