PalmSource, the maker of the Palm operating system for hand-held devices, plans to announce today its first operating system designed specifically for smart phones -- mobile phones that can run programs more typically found on desktop computers.
The operating system will include more cellphone-related technology as part of PalmSource's new strategy to focus more on phones. For example, Bluetooth wireless technology can already be used with the Palm operating system, but device manufacturers have to do a certain amount of technical work to make it function on a phone; now, Bluetooth is built in.
"We are reinventing the company," said David Nagel, PalmSource's chief executive, in an interview during a recent European tour. The company is betting that the same ease of use that made the Palm a popular hand-held organizer will draw people to phones using the software.
PalmOne, the separate company that makes Palm hardware, already makes a mobile device called the Treo 600 that combines a phone with a full keyboard and e-mail software.
But PalmSource wants its operating system to be the brains behind a variety of smart phones, not only Treos. It is planning to add features like the popular BlackBerry e-mail software created by Research In Motion; new Java technology for downloading games; a new browser that will make it easier to view Web sites on a mobile phone screen; and the ability to connect to several kinds of wireless networks, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Wi-Max.
PalmSource said its software would soon be available in 11 smart phones, but it would not identify the manufacturers.
Analysts say that about 70 percent of all smart phones sold are powered by an operating system from Symbian, which is owned by several major cellphone makers. And Microsoft is making a big push into the market with its own software.
Palm faces an uphill battle, said Lars Vestergaard, an analyst at the market research company IDC.
"Palm missed the train on wireless," he said. "Its competitive advantage now has to be gained."
Research In Motion, another company better known for data devices than phones, just introduced new BlackBerry models that look more like phones than previous BlackBerrys. They includes a system that merges a phone keypad and a computer keyboard, with two letters per key instead of the three on other phones.
But the system is still too awkward for people who regularly need to reply to e-mail messages on the go, said Ben Wood, an analyst in London for the Gartner technology consulting company.
Those people are better off with a more computerlike keyboard, he said.
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