PalmSource Sale Won't Kill Palm OS

CNET reports that the sale of PalmSource may quicken the "marriage of Linux and the Palm OS, but it won't kill off the operating system that helped create the PDA market." According to the article, Access plans to combine its Linux-based NetFront browser with the Palm OS version 5x--also known as Garnet.

Gartner analyst Todd Kort said, "They will preserve as much as they can, but it is a larger task than most people realize. That is why PalmSource said it would take 18 to 24 months to finish the project. It was their main focus for 2005."

The article notes recent comments from Palm's CFO that a Windows Mobile Treo might help Palm better tackle the corporate market. JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg stated that "The mere notion that a Palm device could be built around anything but the Palm OS means that the market is shifting and that anything is possible."

Kevin Burden at IDC said, "It's probably no coincidence that an Asian company has bought PalmSource, given its new allegiance to Linux."