Access, which bought up PalmSource, has confirmed that the future Palm OS will be Linux-based. You'll be able to run Linux apps on future Palm devices that use the OS, but you'll also be able to run current Palm apps (well, most of them).
PalmSource was already walking down the Linux path when it was acquired by Access. This was partially because of the complete failure of any device manufacturers to license Palm OS 6, the next generation version of the current Palm OS 5 that incorporated lots of lovely technology from the acquisition of Be's technology. The question is, will anyone bother with this new Palm OS either?
Sure, it's easier to find Linux developers than Palm OS developers. But the last big Linux PDA, which was produced by Sharp, is no longer available in the UK because of lack of popularity. Ultimately, what made Palm successful was the Palm interface in combination with existing software. If there are no good reasons to move to the next OS, you lose compatibility with a swathe of software and the Palm interface gets replaced with something more Linux-y, why bother migrating?
I get the suspicion that by the time the last Palm device gets made, it'll still be running Palm OS 5, not Linux.
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