Palm OS for Linux announced

Open source platform apes traditional Palm look and feel

PalmSource has unveiled the fruits of its project to port the Palm platform to run on Linux-based handsets. The Access Linux Platform (ALP) will run existing Palm applications and has the Palm OS look and feel, but the first handsets based on the software are unlikely to ship before early 2007.

Now a subsidiary of Japanese firm Access, PalmSource said it aims to make ALP the platform of choice for high-volume, feature-rich smartphones and mobile devices.

The company faces stiff competition from Symbian and Microsoft's Windows Mobile, but said its use of open-source software components will allow handset makers greater flexibility and enable shorter development times.

ALP is based on the Linux 2.6.12 kernel, but can also run atop embedded kernels from vendors such as MontaVista or WindRiver. It features PalmSource's messaging and telephony framework, plus the familiar Palm OS personal information management (PIM) applications, and the Access NetFront browser.

"At the top level, we're combining the best of Linux with the product portfolios from PalmSource and Access," said Walter Sun, PalmSource director of strategic marketing.

ALP is backwards compatible with legacy Palm OS applications, according to PalmSource. This means the platform can benefit from the large number of Palm OS developers, and opens doors to the wider open-source developer community.

The old Palm OS user interface has been updated to support one-handed access via the five-way navigation controls typical of phones, while keeping support for stylus input on the screen. Codenamed MAX, the revamped interface is designed to provide easy access to multiple running applications.

"It allows you to take a call, then easily go back to the music player or whatever you were using beforehand," said Sun.

PalmSource said the new platform is the result of extensive feedback from handset makers and carriers since the project started. PalmSource is set to deliver code to licensees later this year.

"There is growing interest around Linux [for phones] because of its flexibility and ease of customisation," said Sun. "We identified a potential gap in the market, the lack of a complete platform. We're bringing to the table a mobile Linux ecosystem in its entirety."