Palm OS
Encyclopedia
Palm OS is a mobile operating system
initially developed by Palm, Inc.
, for personal digital assistant
s (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen
-based graphical user interface
. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management
. Later versions of the OS have been extended to support smartphone
s. Several other licensees have manufactured devices powered by Palm OS.
Following Palm's purchase of the Palm trademark, the currently licensed version from ACCESS
was renamed Garnet OS. In 2007, ACCESS introduced the successor to Garnet OS, called Access Linux Platform
and in 2009, the main licensee of Palm OS, Palm, Inc., switched from Palm OS to webOS for their forthcoming devices.
at Palm Computing, Inc.
Palm was later acquired by U.S. Robotics Corp., which in turn was later bought by 3Com
, which made the Palm subsidiary an independent publicly traded company on March 2, 2000.
In January 2002, Palm set up a wholly owned subsidiary to develop and license Palm OS, which was named PalmSource
. PalmSource was then spun off from Palm as an independent company on October 28, 2003. Palm (then called palmOne) became a regular licensee of Palm OS, no longer in control of the operating system.
In September 2005, PalmSource announced that it was being acquired by ACCESS
.
In December 2006, Palm gained perpetual rights to the Palm OS source code from ACCESS. With this Palm can modify the licensed operating system as needed without paying further royalties to ACCESS. Together with the May 2005 acquisition of full rights to the Palm brand name, only Palm can publish releases of the operating system under the name 'Palm OS'.
As a consequence, on January 25, 2007, ACCESS announced a name change to their current Palm OS operating system, now titled Garnet OS.
mobile operating system
. Designed in 1996 for Palm Computing, Inc.'s new Pilot PDA
, it has been implemented on a wide array of mobile devices, including smartphone
s, wrist watches
, handheld gaming consoles
, barcode reader
s and GPS devices.
Palm OS versions earlier than 5.0 run on Motorola
/Freescale DragonBall
processors. From version 5.0 onwards, Palm OS runs on ARM architecture
-based processors.
The key features of the current Palm OS Garnet are:
Included with the OS is also a set of standard applications, with the most relevant ones for the four mentioned PIM operations.
All versions prior to Palm OS 5 are based on top of the AMX 68000 kernel licensed from KADAK Products Ltd. While this kernel is technically capable of multitasking, the "terms and conditions of that license specifically state that Palm may not expose the API for creating/manipulating tasks within the OS."
.
Version 1.0 features the classic PIM applications Address, Date Book, Memo Pad, and To Do List. Also included is a calculator and the Security tool to hide records for private use.
Palm OS 1.0 does not differentiate between RAM
and file system
storage. Applications are installed directly into RAM and executed in place. As no dedicated file system is supported, the operation system depends on constant RAM refresh cycles to keep its memory. The OS supports 160x160 monochrome output displays. User input is generated through the Graffiti
handwriting recognition
system or optionally through a virtual keyboard
. The system supports data synchronization
to another PC via its HotSync technology over a serial interface. The latest bugfix release is version 1.0.7.
. This version adds TCP/IP network, network HotSync, and display backlight support. The last bugfix release is version 2.0.5.
Two new applications, Mail and Expense are added, and the standard PIM applications have been enhanced.
series. This version adds IrDA
infrared and enhanced font support. This version also features updated PIM applications and an update to the application launcher.
Palm OS 3.1 adds only minor new features, like network HotSync support. It was introduced with the Palm IIIx
and Palm V
.
Palm OS 3.2 adds Web Clipping support, which is an early Palm-specific solution to bring web-content to a small PDA screen. It was introduced with the Palm VII
organizer.
Palm OS 3.3 adds faster HotSync speeds and the ability to do infrared hotsyncing. It was introduced with the Palm Vx
organizer.
Palm OS 3.5 is the first version to include native 8-bit color support. It also adds major convenience features that simplify operation, like a context-sensitive icon-bar or simpler menu activation. The datebook application is extended with an additional agenda view. This version was first introduced with the Palm IIIc
device. The latest bugfix release is version 3.5.3.
As a companion, Palm later offered a Mobile Internet Kit software upgrade for Palm OS 3.5. This included Palm's Web Clipping software, MultiMail (which was later renamed to VersaMail) Version 2.26 e-mail software, handPHONE Version 1.3 SMS
software, and Neomar Version 1.5 WAP
browser.
on March 19, 2001. This version adds a standard interface for external file system
access (such as SD cards). External file systems are a radical change to the operating system's previous in-place execution. Now, application code and data need to be loaded into the device's RAM, similar to desktop operating system behavior. A new Universal Connector
with USB support is introduced. The previous optional Mobile Internet Kit is now part of the operating system. Version 4.0 adds an attention manager to coordinate information from different applications, with several possibilities to get the user's attention, including sound, LED blinking or vibration. 16-bit color screens and different time zones are supported. This version also has security and UI enhancements.
Palm OS 4.1 is a bugfix release. It was introduced with the launch of the Palm i705
. The later minor OS update to version 4.1.2 includes a backport of Graffiti 2
from Palm OS 5.2.
Palm OS 4.2 Simplified Chinese Edition is targeted especially for the Chinese market with fully Simplified Chinese
support, co-released with Palm OS 5.3. No device has been manufactured with this version up to now.
devices, with support for DragonBall
applications through the Palm Application Compatibility Environment (PACE) emulator. Even with the additional overhead of PACE, Palm applications usually run faster on ARM devices than on previous generation hardware. New software can take advantage of the ARM processors with small units of ARM code, referred to as ARMlets.
With a more powerful hardware basis, Palm OS is substantially enhanced for multimedia capabilities. High density 320x320 screens are supported together with a full digital sound playback and record API. Palm's separate Bluetooth stack is added together with an IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi
stack. Secure network connections over SSL
are supported. The OS can be customized with different color schemes.
For Palm OS 5, PalmSource developed and licensed a web browser called PalmSource Web Browser, which is based on ACCESS' NetFront
3.0 browser.
Palm OS 5.2 is mainly a bugfix release, first implemented in the Samsung
SGH-i500. It provides support for 480x320 resolutions and introduces a new handwriting input system called Graffiti 2
, due to the lost lawsuit against Xerox
. Graffiti 2 is based on Jot from CIC. The latest bugfix release is version 5.2.8.
Palm OS 5.3 Simplified Chinese Edition provides full Simplified Chinese
support, further adds support for QVGA resolutions, and a standard API for virtual Graffiti called Dynamic Input Area. This version was first introduced with Lenovo's P100 and P300 handhelds.
Palm OS Garnet (5.4) officially provides support for multiple screen resolutions, ranging from 160x160 up to 480x320. It also features updated Bluetooth libraries. This version introduces the Garnet moniker to distinguish it from Palm OS Cobalt 6.0. The latest bugfix release is version 5.4.9.
Garnet OS 5.5 is the current version developed by ACCESS. This version is dedicated to be run inside the Garnet VM virtual machine. Garnet VM is a core part of Access Linux Platform
and also available for Nokia Internet Tablets.
Palm OS Cobalt introduced modern operating system features to an embedded operating system based on a new kernel with multitasking and memory protection, a modern multimedia and graphic framework (derived from Palm's acquired BeOS
), new security features, and adjustments of the PIM file formats to better cooperate with Microsoft Outlook
.
Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 presented standard communication libraries for telecommunication, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. Despite other additions, it failed to interest potential licensees to Palm OS Cobalt.
had been attempting to create a modern successor for Palm OS 5 and have licensees implement it. Although PalmSource shipped Palm OS Cobalt 6.0 to licensees in January 2004, none adopted it for release devices. PalmSource made major improvements to Palm OS Cobalt with the release of Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 in September 2004 to please licensees, but even the new version did not lead to production devices.
In December 2004, PalmSource announced a new OS strategy. With the acquisition of the mobile phone software company China Mobilesoft, PalmSource planned to port Palm OS on top of a Linux kernel
, while still offering both Palm OS Garnet and Palm OS Cobalt. This strategy was revised in June 2005, when still no device with Palm OS Cobalt was announced. PalmSource announced it was halting all development efforts on any product not directly related to its future Linux based platform.
With the acquisition of PalmSource by ACCESS, Palm OS for Linux was changed to become the ACCESS Linux Platform
which was first announced in February 2006. The initial versions of the platform and software development kits for the ACCESS Linux Platform were officially released in February 2007. As of January 2011, the ACCESS Linux Platform has yet to ship on devices, however development kits exists and public demonstrations have been showcased.
Palm, Inc. the main licensee of Palm OS Garnet did not license ACCESS Linux Platform for their own devices. Instead, Palm developed another Linux-based operating system called Palm webOS
. On February 11, 2009, Palm CEO Ed Colligan said there would be no additional Palm OS devices (excepting the Centro being released to other carriers). Palm is focusing on Palm webOS and Windows Mobile devices. On April 1, 2009, Palm announced the availability of a Palm OS emulator for its webOS
.
Note : On the newer models, the standard PIM apps "Address", "Date Book", "Memo Pad" and "ToDos" have been replaced by their improved counterparts "Contacts", "Calendar" "Memos" and "Tasks".
The Palm's Address program stores contact information, keyed by any of several user-definable categories. Entries are displayed and sorted in last name, first name order (this can be changed only to Company, Last Name order). There are five slots for phone or e-mail, each of which may be designated Work, Home, Fax, Other, E-mail, Main, Pager or Mobile (the slot designations cannot be changed).
The newer Contacts app adds the following features : several addresses, 9 new fields : Website, Birthday, More phone numbers, Instant Messaging with quick connect.
Calc turns the Palm into a standard 4-function pocket calculator
with three shades of purple and blue buttons contrasting with the two red clear buttons. It supports square root and percent keys and has one memory.
It also has an option to display a running history of the calculations, much like the paper-tape calculators that were once common.
Date Book shows a daily or weekly schedule, or a simple monthly view. The daily schedule has one line per hour, between user-selected begin and end times. Clicking on an empty line creates a new event. Empty lines are crowded out by actual events, whose start and stop times are shown by default bracketed in the left margin. The newer Calendar app adds the following features : New Day view, use of categories for events, event location, event can span midnight, event details, birthdays as timeless events. It supports timezone designation for events, a feature lacking in some more recent competitors.
An event, or appointment, can be heralded by an alarm, any number of minutes, hours or days before it begins. These alarms sound even when the unit is switched off.
Appointments can recur in a specified number of days, weeks, months or years and can contain notes.
Expense tracks common business expenses. No totals are calculated on the Palm. The user must sync with a host computer and view the expense data in a worksheet (templates for Microsoft Excel are supplied).
HotSync integrates with the user's PC. Usually activated by a press of the physical HotSync button on the Palm's cradle (a dock station), this application communicates with various conduits on the desktop PC to install software, backup databases, or merge changes made on the PC or the handheld to both devices. It can communicate with the PC through a physical connection (USB on newer models; although drivers for Windows x64 based platforms are still unavailable, 32 bit editions work well), Bluetooth or IrDA wireless connections, and direct network connections on devices with networking capability.
In addition to the conduits provided by the licensee, developers can create their own conduits for integration with other Palm OS applications and desktop products. For example, a time tracking package could provide a conduit to communicate information between Palm OS and Windows executables.
A Backup conduit included with the HotSync software backs up (and restores, if necessary) most of the data on a Palm OS device. This allows users to hard reset their Palm—thus clearing all of the data—with few noticeable consequences. This also allows users to migrate to new Palm devices of the same Palm OS version, a feature that is helpful to those who lose or damage their device.
Some models of Palm keep their data storage in volatile memory
and require constant power to maintain their memory. Although these handhelds attempt to save the contents of memory in low battery situations by not "turning on," leaving a "dead" handheld for an extended period of time can cause this reserve power to be used up and the contents of storage memory to be lost. Some later Palms use NVRAM
or microdrive for storage.
Memo Pad can hold notes of up to 4,000 characters each; the newer Memos app increases field size from 3 to 30 kB. Memos are ordered in two ways: alphabetically, and manually (which allows the user to choose the order of the memos), and memos can be grouped in user-configurable categories. Memo Pad is for text only, not for drawings, and text can be entered using the Graffiti
alphabet, using hardware or software keyboards, or using the 'paste' function. When Palm devices first became available, some Palm users started to create and exchange Memo Pad documents containing generally useful information, which came to be known as Memoware
.
To do list creates personal reminders and prioritizes the things the user has to do.
Each To Do List item may also have: a priority, categories (to organize and view items in logical groups), attached Note (to add more description and clarification of the task).
To Do List item can be sorted by: due date, priority or category.
The newer Tasks app features the following improvements : new interface, repeating tasks, alarms, etc.
Preferences (also referred to as Prefs) shows program files with a special preference panel type which are not shown by the normal launcher. Programs can be changed by switching the 'appl' type to 'panl' and vice versa. Palm OS contains approximately 15 preference panels by default and new preference panels can be added just like any other application.
Preference panels allow users to manage a number of setting including Graffiti
settings, sound settings, text shortcuts, network settings and the system time.
Security (which is a panel on newer Palm OS devices) is used to configure Palm OS's security settings. These include the password needed to display hidden records and unlock the device when locked, as well as setup an automatic lock down time or inactivity threshold. On the PC, only Palm Desktop honors this password but other PC programs can view everything—in other words, all the data protected by this password can be seen by anyone opening the .dat files using a text editor or word processor.
Blazer
is a web browser
for Palm
handhelds. The versions 1.0 and 2.0 run on Palm OS 3.1 or higher handhelds, but they needed a proxy server
which has been shut down, so they can no longer be used. Version 3.0 is used on the Treo
600 smartphone
. The current version of Blazer is Blazer 4.5, which is compliant with most major standards. It is generally bundled with newer smartphones and newer Palm devices capable of accessing the Internet
.
Palm's Note Pad can be used for quick drawings. With neat handwriting, 20-30 words will fit on one page; for more text, Memo Pad is the better choice. There are three sizes of pen width, plus an eraser and a background color change feature in some models. It is possible to draw a very simple map. The more "advanced" desktop version saves the Memo pad drawings to the desktop.
As of 2006, most new Palm handhelds include Photos, which creates a digital photo album used to view pictures on a Palm OS device. As with all the other photo programs, photos can be beamed to other mobile devices. Each photo can be labeled and organized into separate photo albums. A slideshow can also be shown for a specific album, and each photo in the album will be shown full screen.
Photos can be edited with the Palm Photos PC software (Windows only), and when the photos are transferred to the handheld they will contain all changes made to the photo.
The Palm Photos software is available in the Zire 71, Tungsten C, Tungsten E, Tungsten T2, Tungsten T3 and several others.
With the support for Video, Palm Photos was later renamed to Media and even later to Pics& Videos.
Some models feature the ability to make voice recordings which are synced using the Voice conduit and can be viewed on a desktop with the Voice Memo application which is part of the Palm Desktop Suite.
, shareware
, and traditional pay-up-front purchase.
/C++
. Two officially supported compilers exist: a commercial product, CodeWarrior
Development Studio for Palm OS, and an open source tool chain called prc-tools, based on an old version of gcc
. CodeWarrior is criticized for being expensive and is no longer being developed, whereas PRC-Tools lacks several of CodeWarrior's features. A version of PRC-Tools is included in a free Palm OS Developer Suite (PODS).
OnBoardC is a C compiler, assembler, linker and programming editor that runs on the Palm itself.
Palm OS Cobalt applications are also coded in a variation of gcc, but the Cobalt compilers have fewer limitations.
There are development tools available for Palm programming that do not require low-level programming in C/C++, such as PocketC/PocketC Architect, CASL
, AppForge Crossfire
(which uses Visual Basic
, Visual Basic.NET, or C#), Handheld Basic, Pendragon Forms, Satellite Forms and NSBasic/Palm (Visual Basic like languages). A Java Virtual Machine
was previously available for the Palm OS platform, however on 2008-01-12, Palm, Inc. announced that it would no longer be available. Palm, Inc. further said "There is no alternate Java Virtual Machine that we are aware of for Palm OS." Waba
and a derivative of it, SuperWaba
, provide a Java-like virtual machine and programming language. A version of the Lua language, called Plua
, is also available for Palm; however, due to the fact that it requires an additional runtime to be installed along with the application, it is only used for mainstream applications by a minority of software companies. Quartus Forth is an ISO/ANSI Standard Forth compiler that runs on the Palm itself. It also has an interactive console for dynamic development and debugging.
Two environments allow programming in Pascal
for Palm OS. The free PP Compiler runs directly on the handheld computer, while PocketStudio
is a Delphi
-like IDE
for Windows Computers that has a visual form designer and generates PRC
files for being transferred to handhelds via HotSync.
As Palm has no connection drivers that enable the transfer of data with a server DBMS (Oracle, mySQL, MS SQL Server), the programmer can use Middleware software that enables this connectivity.
A roughly R4RS-compatible implementation of Scheme, LispMe
, provides the Palm platform with a GPL-licensed onboard Lisp REPL with some Palm OS-specific adaptations, but although it is functionally a compiler it does not produce code that operates outside the development environment, so its use is restricted to prototyping.
A free development tool, LaFac, works directly on the Palm device, using the Memo Pad for source code editing, and provides support for a limited subset of C, Pascal, and Basic.
Xerox
vs. Palm Computing (1997) In 1997, Xerox was granted a patent (5,596,656) on "unistroke." It filed suit against Palm (then U.S. Robotics
), alleging that Graffiti
infringed on this patent. The Palm OS switch from Graffiti 1 to Graffiti 2 was triggered by Palm losing this suit to Xerox. The patent was overturned in May 2004 due to prior art
.
Pilot Pen Corporation
vs. Palm Computing (1998) The original name for Palm OS handhelds was Pilot. However, a lawsuit from Pilot Pen Corporation forced a name change to PalmPilot, then eventually to Palm.
Palm vs. Microsoft
(1998) In 1998, Microsoft planned to name the next version of their handheld computing platform "Palm PC". Palm filed suit against Microsoft, forcing the name change to, first, Palm-sized PC, and later, Pocket PC
.
E-Pass Technologies vs. Palm, Microsoft and HP (2000) In 2000, E-Pass Technologies filed suit against Palm, alleging that its handhelds infringed on an E-Pass's patent (#5,276,311) for a multi-function, credit card-sized computer that allows users to securely store account numbers, PIN codes, etc.. This lawsuit continues.
NCR
vs. Handspring
and Palm (2001) In 1987, NCR was granted a patent for a portable e-commerce terminal. In 2001, NCR sued Handspring and Palm. This case was ruled without merit in 2002, a decision that was upheld on appeal.
RIM
vs. Handspring (2002) In 2002, Research In Motion
(makers of the BlackBerry
), sued Handspring. By year end, both Handspring and Palm licensed the patents and the suit was dropped.
Peer-to-Peer Systems vs. Palm (2002) Also in 2002, Peer-to-Peer systems filed lawsuit against Palm that alleges Palm infringed on its patent for wireless gaming. This lawsuit has been settled as of Feb 9th 2005.
Forgent Networks
vs. HP, Toshiba, palmOne, etc., etc. (2004) Starting in 2002, Forgent Networks
began offering licenses for a patent that encumbers JPEG. In 2004, it filed suit against various companies, including palmOne. The JPEG or 672 patent has been reviewed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which has rejected 19 of the 47 claims based on prior art
.
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
initially developed by Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
, for personal digital assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
-based graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management
Personal information manager
A personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...
. Later versions of the OS have been extended to support smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s. Several other licensees have manufactured devices powered by Palm OS.
Following Palm's purchase of the Palm trademark, the currently licensed version from ACCESS
Access Co.
, founded in April 1979 and incorporated in February 1984 in Tokyo, Japan, by Arakawa Toru and Kamada Tomihisa, is a company providing a variety of software for connected and mobile devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, video game consoles and set top boxes....
was renamed Garnet OS. In 2007, ACCESS introduced the successor to Garnet OS, called Access Linux Platform
Access Linux Platform
The Access Linux Platform , once referred to as a "next-generation version of the Palm OS" is an open source-based operating system for mobile devices developed and marketed by Access Co., of Tokyo, Japan. The platform includes execution environments for Java, classic Palm OS, and GTK+-based native...
and in 2009, the main licensee of Palm OS, Palm, Inc., switched from Palm OS to webOS for their forthcoming devices.
Creator and ownership
Palm OS was originally developed under the direction of Jeff HawkinsJeff Hawkins
Jeffrey Hawkins is the founder of Palm Computing and Handspring...
at Palm Computing, Inc.
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
Palm was later acquired by U.S. Robotics Corp., which in turn was later bought by 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
, which made the Palm subsidiary an independent publicly traded company on March 2, 2000.
In January 2002, Palm set up a wholly owned subsidiary to develop and license Palm OS, which was named PalmSource
PalmSource
ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. is a subsidiary of ACCESS which develops the Palm OS PDA operating system and its successor, the Access Linux Platform, as well as BeOS...
. PalmSource was then spun off from Palm as an independent company on October 28, 2003. Palm (then called palmOne) became a regular licensee of Palm OS, no longer in control of the operating system.
In September 2005, PalmSource announced that it was being acquired by ACCESS
Access Co.
, founded in April 1979 and incorporated in February 1984 in Tokyo, Japan, by Arakawa Toru and Kamada Tomihisa, is a company providing a variety of software for connected and mobile devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, video game consoles and set top boxes....
.
In December 2006, Palm gained perpetual rights to the Palm OS source code from ACCESS. With this Palm can modify the licensed operating system as needed without paying further royalties to ACCESS. Together with the May 2005 acquisition of full rights to the Palm brand name, only Palm can publish releases of the operating system under the name 'Palm OS'.
As a consequence, on January 25, 2007, ACCESS announced a name change to their current Palm OS operating system, now titled Garnet OS.
OS overview
Palm OS is a proprietaryProprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
mobile operating system
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
. Designed in 1996 for Palm Computing, Inc.'s new Pilot PDA
Pilot 1000
The Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 were early Palm PDAs produced by Palm, Inc. . It was introduced in March 1996....
, it has been implemented on a wide array of mobile devices, including smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s, wrist watches
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
, handheld gaming consoles
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
, barcode reader
Barcode reader
A barcode reader is an electronic device for reading printed barcodes. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating optical impulses into electrical ones...
s and GPS devices.
Palm OS versions earlier than 5.0 run on Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
/Freescale DragonBall
Freescale DragonBall
Motorola/Freescale Semiconductor's DragonBall, or MC68328, is a microcontroller design based on the famous 68000 core, but implemented as an all-in-one low-power solution for handheld computer use...
processors. From version 5.0 onwards, Palm OS runs on ARM architecture
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
-based processors.
The key features of the current Palm OS Garnet are:
- Simple, single-tasking environment to allow launching of full screen applications with a basic, common GUIGuiGui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...
set - Monochrome or color screens with resolutions up to 480x320 pixel
- Handwriting recognitionHandwriting recognitionHandwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or...
input system called Graffiti 2Graffiti 2Graffiti 2 is a version of the Palm OS handwriting system, Graffiti, that was introduced in 2003. In January of that year PalmSource announced the change, and explained that Graffiti 2 was based on Jot by Communication Intelligence Corporation , and would replace the original version of Graffiti... - HotSync technology for data synchronizationSynchronization (computer science)In computer science, synchronization refers to one of two distinct but related concepts: synchronization of processes, and synchronization of data. Process synchronization refers to the idea that multiple processes are to join up or handshake at a certain point, so as to reach an agreement or...
with desktop computers - Sound playback and record capabilities
- Simple security model: Device can be locked by password, arbitrary application records can be made private
- TCP/IP network access
- Serial portSerial portIn computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
/USB, infraredInfrared Data AssociationThe Infrared Data Association defines physical specifications communications protocol standards for the short-range exchange of data over infrared light, for uses such as personal area networks ....
, BluetoothBluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
and Wi-FiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
connections - Expansion memory cardMemory cardA memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
support - Defined standard data format for personal information managementPersonal information managerA personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...
applications to store calendar, address, task and note entries, accessible by third-party applications.
Included with the OS is also a set of standard applications, with the most relevant ones for the four mentioned PIM operations.
Version history and technical background
Manufacturers are free to implement different features of the OS in their devices or even add new features. This version history describes the officially licensed version from Palm/PalmSource/ACCESS.All versions prior to Palm OS 5 are based on top of the AMX 68000 kernel licensed from KADAK Products Ltd. While this kernel is technically capable of multitasking, the "terms and conditions of that license specifically state that Palm may not expose the API for creating/manipulating tasks within the OS."
Palm OS 1.0
Palm OS 1.0 is the original version present on the Pilot 1000 and 5000Pilot 1000
The Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 were early Palm PDAs produced by Palm, Inc. . It was introduced in March 1996....
.
Version 1.0 features the classic PIM applications Address, Date Book, Memo Pad, and To Do List. Also included is a calculator and the Security tool to hide records for private use.
Palm OS 1.0 does not differentiate between RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
and file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
storage. Applications are installed directly into RAM and executed in place. As no dedicated file system is supported, the operation system depends on constant RAM refresh cycles to keep its memory. The OS supports 160x160 monochrome output displays. User input is generated through the Graffiti
Graffiti (Palm OS)
Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...
handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning or...
system or optionally through a virtual keyboard
Virtual keyboard
A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows a user to enter characters. A virtual keyboard can usually be operated with multiple input devices, which may include a touchscreen, an actual keyboard and a computer mouse.- Types :...
. The system supports data synchronization
Synchronization (computer science)
In computer science, synchronization refers to one of two distinct but related concepts: synchronization of processes, and synchronization of data. Process synchronization refers to the idea that multiple processes are to join up or handshake at a certain point, so as to reach an agreement or...
to another PC via its HotSync technology over a serial interface. The latest bugfix release is version 1.0.7.
Palm OS 2.0
Palm OS 2.0 was introduced on March 10, 1997 with the PalmPilot Personal and ProfessionalPalmPilot
The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc...
. This version adds TCP/IP network, network HotSync, and display backlight support. The last bugfix release is version 2.0.5.
Two new applications, Mail and Expense are added, and the standard PIM applications have been enhanced.
Palm OS 3.0
Palm OS 3.0 was introduced on March 9, 1998 with the launch of the Palm IIIPalm III
The Palm III was a personal digital assistant made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. It went on sale in 1998 as a replacement for the PalmPilot handheld. It was the first Palm handheld to support infrared file transfer and a Flash ROM-capable operating system...
series. This version adds IrDA
IRDA
IRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...
infrared and enhanced font support. This version also features updated PIM applications and an update to the application launcher.
Palm OS 3.1 adds only minor new features, like network HotSync support. It was introduced with the Palm IIIx
Palm IIIx
The Palm IIIx is a PDA from Palm Computing released in 1999, briefly before the scaled down Palm IIIe was introduced into the marketplace.The Palm IIIx improved upon the Palm III by featuring a new enhanced and easier to read LCD and 4 MB RAM and opposed to the 2 MB in the Palm III...
and Palm V
Palm V
The Palm V was a personal digital assistant made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. While functionally similar to the predecessor Palm III series of PDAs, it distinguished itself by its sleek design, anodized aluminum finish, and built-in rechargeable battery . The Palm V's design was created...
.
Palm OS 3.2 adds Web Clipping support, which is an early Palm-specific solution to bring web-content to a small PDA screen. It was introduced with the Palm VII
Palm VII
The Palm VII was a personal digital assistant made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. The device featured an antenna used for wireless data communication, a first for a Palm device. Connectivity was provided through the Mobitex network, under the now defunct Palm.net service...
organizer.
Palm OS 3.3 adds faster HotSync speeds and the ability to do infrared hotsyncing. It was introduced with the Palm Vx
Palm Vx
The Palm Vx was a personal digital assistant made by the Palm Computing division of 3Com. It benefited from the sleek design and low weight of its predecessor, the Palm V, while increasing the available storage to 8 MB. At 114 grams, it was one of the lightest models ever offered by Palm...
organizer.
Palm OS 3.5 is the first version to include native 8-bit color support. It also adds major convenience features that simplify operation, like a context-sensitive icon-bar or simpler menu activation. The datebook application is extended with an additional agenda view. This version was first introduced with the Palm IIIc
Palm IIIc
The Palm IIIc was the first colour PDA made by Palm, Inc. It ran Palm OS 3.5, the first Palm OS version to have native colour support and supported paletted 8-bit colour modes. The machine has a TFT LCD that is bright indoors, but almost unusable outdoors. The Palm IIIc features the classic...
device. The latest bugfix release is version 3.5.3.
As a companion, Palm later offered a Mobile Internet Kit software upgrade for Palm OS 3.5. This included Palm's Web Clipping software, MultiMail (which was later renamed to VersaMail) Version 2.26 e-mail software, handPHONE Version 1.3 SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
software, and Neomar Version 1.5 WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
browser.
Palm OS 4.0
Palm OS 4.0 was released with the new Palm m500 seriesPalm m500 series
The Palm m500 series of handheld personal digital assistants consisted of three devices: the Palm m500, Palm m505, and Palm m515. The series was a follow-up to the popular Palm V series with a similar, though slightly shorter, footprint and form factor....
on March 19, 2001. This version adds a standard interface for external file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
access (such as SD cards). External file systems are a radical change to the operating system's previous in-place execution. Now, application code and data need to be loaded into the device's RAM, similar to desktop operating system behavior. A new Universal Connector
Palm Universal Connector
The Universal Connector was a standard port fitted to the bottom of many Palm PDA's from 2001 to 2004 and on units from other manufacturers that licensed Palm technology, including Garmin....
with USB support is introduced. The previous optional Mobile Internet Kit is now part of the operating system. Version 4.0 adds an attention manager to coordinate information from different applications, with several possibilities to get the user's attention, including sound, LED blinking or vibration. 16-bit color screens and different time zones are supported. This version also has security and UI enhancements.
Palm OS 4.1 is a bugfix release. It was introduced with the launch of the Palm i705
Palm i705
The Palm i705 was an upgrade from the last series of Palm PDAs to use the now discontinued Palm.net service to access the World Wide Web from Palm devices. It featured 8MB of onboard memory and SD/MMC slots...
. The later minor OS update to version 4.1.2 includes a backport of Graffiti 2
Graffiti 2
Graffiti 2 is a version of the Palm OS handwriting system, Graffiti, that was introduced in 2003. In January of that year PalmSource announced the change, and explained that Graffiti 2 was based on Jot by Communication Intelligence Corporation , and would replace the original version of Graffiti...
from Palm OS 5.2.
Palm OS 4.2 Simplified Chinese Edition is targeted especially for the Chinese market with fully Simplified Chinese
Simplified Chinese character
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Xiandai Hanyu Tongyong Zibiao for use in Mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of many standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language...
support, co-released with Palm OS 5.3. No device has been manufactured with this version up to now.
Palm OS 5
Palm OS 5 (not called 5.0) was unveiled by the Palm subsidiary PalmSource in June 2002 and first implemented on the Palm Tungsten T. It is the first version released to support ARMARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
devices, with support for DragonBall
Freescale DragonBall
Motorola/Freescale Semiconductor's DragonBall, or MC68328, is a microcontroller design based on the famous 68000 core, but implemented as an all-in-one low-power solution for handheld computer use...
applications through the Palm Application Compatibility Environment (PACE) emulator. Even with the additional overhead of PACE, Palm applications usually run faster on ARM devices than on previous generation hardware. New software can take advantage of the ARM processors with small units of ARM code, referred to as ARMlets.
With a more powerful hardware basis, Palm OS is substantially enhanced for multimedia capabilities. High density 320x320 screens are supported together with a full digital sound playback and record API. Palm's separate Bluetooth stack is added together with an IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi
IEEE 802.11b-1999
IEEE 802.11b-1999 or 802.11b, is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 specification that extended throughput up to 11 Mbit/s using the same 2.4 GHz band. This specification under the marketing name of Wi-Fi has been implemented all over the world...
stack. Secure network connections over SSL
Transport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
are supported. The OS can be customized with different color schemes.
For Palm OS 5, PalmSource developed and licensed a web browser called PalmSource Web Browser, which is based on ACCESS' NetFront
NetFront
NetFront Browser is a mobile browser for embedded devices, developed by Access Co. Ltd. of Japan, and was designed to function as an embedded browser....
3.0 browser.
Palm OS 5.2 is mainly a bugfix release, first implemented in the Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
SGH-i500. It provides support for 480x320 resolutions and introduces a new handwriting input system called Graffiti 2
Graffiti 2
Graffiti 2 is a version of the Palm OS handwriting system, Graffiti, that was introduced in 2003. In January of that year PalmSource announced the change, and explained that Graffiti 2 was based on Jot by Communication Intelligence Corporation , and would replace the original version of Graffiti...
, due to the lost lawsuit against Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
. Graffiti 2 is based on Jot from CIC. The latest bugfix release is version 5.2.8.
Palm OS 5.3 Simplified Chinese Edition provides full Simplified Chinese
Simplified Chinese character
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Xiandai Hanyu Tongyong Zibiao for use in Mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of many standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language...
support, further adds support for QVGA resolutions, and a standard API for virtual Graffiti called Dynamic Input Area. This version was first introduced with Lenovo's P100 and P300 handhelds.
Palm OS Garnet (5.4) officially provides support for multiple screen resolutions, ranging from 160x160 up to 480x320. It also features updated Bluetooth libraries. This version introduces the Garnet moniker to distinguish it from Palm OS Cobalt 6.0. The latest bugfix release is version 5.4.9.
Garnet OS 5.5 is the current version developed by ACCESS. This version is dedicated to be run inside the Garnet VM virtual machine. Garnet VM is a core part of Access Linux Platform
Access Linux Platform
The Access Linux Platform , once referred to as a "next-generation version of the Palm OS" is an open source-based operating system for mobile devices developed and marketed by Access Co., of Tokyo, Japan. The platform includes execution environments for Java, classic Palm OS, and GTK+-based native...
and also available for Nokia Internet Tablets.
Palm OS Cobalt
Palm OS Cobalt (6.0) was the designated successor for Palm OS 5. It was introduced on February 10, 2004, but is not offered anymore from ACCESS (see next section). Palm OS 6.0 was renamed to Palm OS Cobalt to make clear that this version was initially not designated to replace Palm OS 5, which adopted the name Palm OS Garnet at the same time.Palm OS Cobalt introduced modern operating system features to an embedded operating system based on a new kernel with multitasking and memory protection, a modern multimedia and graphic framework (derived from Palm's acquired BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
), new security features, and adjustments of the PIM file formats to better cooperate with Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
.
Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 presented standard communication libraries for telecommunication, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. Despite other additions, it failed to interest potential licensees to Palm OS Cobalt.
Third party OS enhancements
Several licensees have made custom modifications to the operating system. These are not part of the official licensed version.- Palm developed a BluetoothBluetoothBluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
API for external Bluetooth SDIO Cards for Palm OS 4.0 devices. The Bluetooth stack was later included in Palm OS 5 - Palm added a virtual graffiti input area API especially for their Tungsten T3 device. This API was later superseded by the official Dynamic Input Area API in Palm OS 5.3.
- Palm added to Palm OS 5.4 the Non-Volatile File System, and used Flash for storage instead of DRAMDramDram or DRAM may refer to:As a unit of measure:* Dram , an imperial unit of mass and volume* Armenian dram, a monetary unit* Dirham, a unit of currency in several Arab nationsOther uses:...
, preventing data-loss in the event of battery drain. However, this fundamentally changed the way programs were executed from the Execute-in-Place system that Palm OS traditionally used, and has been the source of many compatibility problems, requiring many applications to have explicit NVFS support added for them to become stable. - For their camera-equipped devices, Palm added the CameraLib API.
- Sony added a library to support JogDial input available on their CLIÉCLIÉThe Sony CLIÉ was a series of personal digital assistants running the Palm Operating System developed and marketed by Sony from 2000 to 2005. The devices introduced many new features to the PDA market, such as a jog-wheel interface, high-resolution displays, and Sony technologies like Memory Stick...
organizers.
Modernization
For several years PalmSourcePalmSource
ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. is a subsidiary of ACCESS which develops the Palm OS PDA operating system and its successor, the Access Linux Platform, as well as BeOS...
had been attempting to create a modern successor for Palm OS 5 and have licensees implement it. Although PalmSource shipped Palm OS Cobalt 6.0 to licensees in January 2004, none adopted it for release devices. PalmSource made major improvements to Palm OS Cobalt with the release of Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 in September 2004 to please licensees, but even the new version did not lead to production devices.
In December 2004, PalmSource announced a new OS strategy. With the acquisition of the mobile phone software company China Mobilesoft, PalmSource planned to port Palm OS on top of a Linux kernel
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
, while still offering both Palm OS Garnet and Palm OS Cobalt. This strategy was revised in June 2005, when still no device with Palm OS Cobalt was announced. PalmSource announced it was halting all development efforts on any product not directly related to its future Linux based platform.
With the acquisition of PalmSource by ACCESS, Palm OS for Linux was changed to become the ACCESS Linux Platform
Access Linux Platform
The Access Linux Platform , once referred to as a "next-generation version of the Palm OS" is an open source-based operating system for mobile devices developed and marketed by Access Co., of Tokyo, Japan. The platform includes execution environments for Java, classic Palm OS, and GTK+-based native...
which was first announced in February 2006. The initial versions of the platform and software development kits for the ACCESS Linux Platform were officially released in February 2007. As of January 2011, the ACCESS Linux Platform has yet to ship on devices, however development kits exists and public demonstrations have been showcased.
Palm, Inc. the main licensee of Palm OS Garnet did not license ACCESS Linux Platform for their own devices. Instead, Palm developed another Linux-based operating system called Palm webOS
Palm webOS
HP webOS is a mobile operating system based on a Linux kernel, initially developed by Palm, which was later acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Palm, HP, and most commentators and sources write the name webOS, as shown in the adjacent logo, and in HP resources, rather than "WebOS".webOS was introduced by...
. On February 11, 2009, Palm CEO Ed Colligan said there would be no additional Palm OS devices (excepting the Centro being released to other carriers). Palm is focusing on Palm webOS and Windows Mobile devices. On April 1, 2009, Palm announced the availability of a Palm OS emulator for its webOS
Palm webOS
HP webOS is a mobile operating system based on a Linux kernel, initially developed by Palm, which was later acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Palm, HP, and most commentators and sources write the name webOS, as shown in the adjacent logo, and in HP resources, rather than "WebOS".webOS was introduced by...
.
Built-in applications
Palm OS licensees decide which applications are included on their Palm OS devices. Licensees can also customize the applications.Standard Palm OS applications
The Palm's Address program stores contact information, keyed by any of several user-definable categories. Entries are displayed and sorted in last name, first name order (this can be changed only to Company, Last Name order). There are five slots for phone or e-mail, each of which may be designated Work, Home, Fax, Other, E-mail, Main, Pager or Mobile (the slot designations cannot be changed).
The newer Contacts app adds the following features : several addresses, 9 new fields : Website, Birthday, More phone numbers, Instant Messaging with quick connect.
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
with three shades of purple and blue buttons contrasting with the two red clear buttons. It supports square root and percent keys and has one memory.
It also has an option to display a running history of the calculations, much like the paper-tape calculators that were once common.
An event, or appointment, can be heralded by an alarm, any number of minutes, hours or days before it begins. These alarms sound even when the unit is switched off.
Appointments can recur in a specified number of days, weeks, months or years and can contain notes.
Expense tracks common business expenses. No totals are calculated on the Palm. The user must sync with a host computer and view the expense data in a worksheet (templates for Microsoft Excel are supplied).
In addition to the conduits provided by the licensee, developers can create their own conduits for integration with other Palm OS applications and desktop products. For example, a time tracking package could provide a conduit to communicate information between Palm OS and Windows executables.
A Backup conduit included with the HotSync software backs up (and restores, if necessary) most of the data on a Palm OS device. This allows users to hard reset their Palm—thus clearing all of the data—with few noticeable consequences. This also allows users to migrate to new Palm devices of the same Palm OS version, a feature that is helpful to those who lose or damage their device.
Some models of Palm keep their data storage in volatile memory
Volatile memory
Volatile memory, also known as volatile storage, is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored information, unlike non-volatile memory which does not require a maintained power supply...
and require constant power to maintain their memory. Although these handhelds attempt to save the contents of memory in low battery situations by not "turning on," leaving a "dead" handheld for an extended period of time can cause this reserve power to be used up and the contents of storage memory to be lost. Some later Palms use NVRAM
NVRAM
Non-volatile random-access memory is random-access memory that retains its information when power is turned off, which is described technically as being non-volatile...
or microdrive for storage.
Memo Pad can hold notes of up to 4,000 characters each; the newer Memos app increases field size from 3 to 30 kB. Memos are ordered in two ways: alphabetically, and manually (which allows the user to choose the order of the memos), and memos can be grouped in user-configurable categories. Memo Pad is for text only, not for drawings, and text can be entered using the Graffiti
Graffiti (Palm OS)
Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...
alphabet, using hardware or software keyboards, or using the 'paste' function. When Palm devices first became available, some Palm users started to create and exchange Memo Pad documents containing generally useful information, which came to be known as Memoware
Memoware
Memoware is a term originally coined in 1996 for data formatted for the Memopad application that was shipped with the original U.S. Robotics Pilot Personal Digital Assistant....
.
Each To Do List item may also have: a priority, categories (to organize and view items in logical groups), attached Note (to add more description and clarification of the task).
To Do List item can be sorted by: due date, priority or category.
The newer Tasks app features the following improvements : new interface, repeating tasks, alarms, etc.
Preferences (also referred to as Prefs) shows program files with a special preference panel type which are not shown by the normal launcher. Programs can be changed by switching the 'appl' type to 'panl' and vice versa. Palm OS contains approximately 15 preference panels by default and new preference panels can be added just like any other application.
Preference panels allow users to manage a number of setting including Graffiti
Graffiti (Palm OS)
Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...
settings, sound settings, text shortcuts, network settings and the system time.
Security (which is a panel on newer Palm OS devices) is used to configure Palm OS's security settings. These include the password needed to display hidden records and unlock the device when locked, as well as setup an automatic lock down time or inactivity threshold. On the PC, only Palm Desktop honors this password but other PC programs can view everything—in other words, all the data protected by this password can be seen by anyone opening the .dat files using a text editor or word processor.
Common third-party core OS applications
Starting with Palm OS version 5.2, Palm created customized versions of the common PIM application. Some new features have been added, e.g. support for Address categories, Ringtone associations to users, longer memo texts, etc.. They were also renamed to reflect designations from Microsoft Outlook, thus Address became Contacts, Datebook became Calendar, Memo Pad became Memos and To do list became Tasks.Blazer
Blazer (web browser)
Blazer is a web browser available for Palm handhelds running Palm OS 3.1 or higher with 8MB of free memory available.The original version of Blazer was developed by Bluelark Systems and was released in November 2000. Bluelark Systems was acquired by Handspring a month later, in December 2000...
is a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
for Palm
Palm (PDA)
Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...
handhelds. The versions 1.0 and 2.0 run on Palm OS 3.1 or higher handhelds, but they needed a proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
which has been shut down, so they can no longer be used. Version 3.0 is used on the Treo
Treo
The Palm Treo is a line of smartphones originally developed by Handspring, which was bought by Palm, Inc. They are now manufactured and maintained by Palm, Inc. Treos have a number of integrated features such as the ability to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from a...
600 smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
. The current version of Blazer is Blazer 4.5, which is compliant with most major standards. It is generally bundled with newer smartphones and newer Palm devices capable of accessing the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
As of 2006, most new Palm handhelds include Photos, which creates a digital photo album used to view pictures on a Palm OS device. As with all the other photo programs, photos can be beamed to other mobile devices. Each photo can be labeled and organized into separate photo albums. A slideshow can also be shown for a specific album, and each photo in the album will be shown full screen.
Photos can be edited with the Palm Photos PC software (Windows only), and when the photos are transferred to the handheld they will contain all changes made to the photo.
The Palm Photos software is available in the Zire 71, Tungsten C, Tungsten E, Tungsten T2, Tungsten T3 and several others.
With the support for Video, Palm Photos was later renamed to Media and even later to Pics& Videos.
Some models feature the ability to make voice recordings which are synced using the Voice conduit and can be viewed on a desktop with the Voice Memo application which is part of the Palm Desktop Suite.
Third-party applications
There are many successful applications that can be installed on a Palm OS device. As of 2008, there are more than 50,000 third-party applications available for the Palm OS platform, which have various licensing types, including open-source, and various closed licensing schemes such as freewareFreeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
, shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
, and traditional pay-up-front purchase.
Application development
Palm OS Garnet applications are primarily coded in CC (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
/C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
. Two officially supported compilers exist: a commercial product, CodeWarrior
CodeWarrior
CodeWarrior is an integrated development environment for the creation of software that runs on a number of embedded systems. Prior to the acquisition of the product by Freescale Semiconductor, versions existed for Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube,...
Development Studio for Palm OS, and an open source tool chain called prc-tools, based on an old version of gcc
GNU Compiler Collection
The GNU Compiler Collection is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain...
. CodeWarrior is criticized for being expensive and is no longer being developed, whereas PRC-Tools lacks several of CodeWarrior's features. A version of PRC-Tools is included in a free Palm OS Developer Suite (PODS).
OnBoardC is a C compiler, assembler, linker and programming editor that runs on the Palm itself.
Palm OS Cobalt applications are also coded in a variation of gcc, but the Cobalt compilers have fewer limitations.
There are development tools available for Palm programming that do not require low-level programming in C/C++, such as PocketC/PocketC Architect, CASL
Compact Application Solution Language
Compact Application Solution Language is a programming language used to create computer programs for Palm OS, and Microsoft Windows desktops, laptops, and Pocket PCs with Windows Mobile. It is published by WAGWARE Systems, Inc., and Brainyware, LLC.As a language, CASL is similar to Pascal or...
, AppForge Crossfire
AppForge
AppForge, Inc. was a software company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, providing mobile application development services as well as CrossFire, a software tool simplifying mobile applications for Symbian, Windows Mobile, RIM BlackBerry, and Palm OS...
(which uses Visual Basic
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
, Visual Basic.NET, or C#), Handheld Basic, Pendragon Forms, Satellite Forms and NSBasic/Palm (Visual Basic like languages). A Java Virtual Machine
Java Virtual Machine
A Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
was previously available for the Palm OS platform, however on 2008-01-12, Palm, Inc. announced that it would no longer be available. Palm, Inc. further said "There is no alternate Java Virtual Machine that we are aware of for Palm OS." Waba
WABA
WABA may refer to:* Waba or SuperWaba, a simplified version of Java aimed at portable devices* WABA , a radio station licensed to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico* Washington Antiquarian Booksellers Association* Washington Area Bicyclist Association...
and a derivative of it, SuperWaba
SuperWaba
SuperWaba is a discontinued Java-like virtual machine that targets portable devices. Software developers use application programming interfaces , accessed through associated libraries and small tools , to create applications that can run within the VM on supported platforms.-Architecture:The...
, provide a Java-like virtual machine and programming language. A version of the Lua language, called Plua
Plua
Plua is a port of the programming language Lua 5.0.3, along with a small IDE, for the Palm Computing platform. Lua is a programming language designed at TeCGraf, the Computer Graphics Technology Group of PUC-Rio, Brazil...
, is also available for Palm; however, due to the fact that it requires an additional runtime to be installed along with the application, it is only used for mainstream applications by a minority of software companies. Quartus Forth is an ISO/ANSI Standard Forth compiler that runs on the Palm itself. It also has an interactive console for dynamic development and debugging.
Two environments allow programming in Pascal
Pascal (programming language)
Pascal is an influential imperative and procedural programming language, designed in 1968/9 and published in 1970 by Niklaus Wirth as a small and efficient language intended to encourage good programming practices using structured programming and data structuring.A derivative known as Object Pascal...
for Palm OS. The free PP Compiler runs directly on the handheld computer, while PocketStudio
PocketStudio
PocketStudio by Winsoft is an IDE supporting rapid application development for Palm OS and related operating systems like Garnet OS or Access Linux Platform...
is a Delphi
Borland Delphi
Embarcadero Delphi is an integrated development environment for console, desktop graphical, web, and mobile applications.Delphi's compilers use its own Object Pascal dialect of Pascal and generate native code for 32- and 64-bit Windows operating systems, as well as 32-bit Mac OS X and iOS...
-like IDE
Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
for Windows Computers that has a visual form designer and generates PRC
PRC (Palm OS)
PRC is a container format for code databases in Palm OS, Garnet OS and Access Linux Platform. Its structure is similar to PDB databases. Usually, a PRC file is a flat representation of a Palm OS application that is stored as forked database on the PDA....
files for being transferred to handhelds via HotSync.
As Palm has no connection drivers that enable the transfer of data with a server DBMS (Oracle, mySQL, MS SQL Server), the programmer can use Middleware software that enables this connectivity.
A roughly R4RS-compatible implementation of Scheme, LispMe
LispMe
LispMe is an interpreter for the Scheme programming language developed by Fred Bayer for Palm OS PDAs. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License. It is reasonably close to standard Scheme but is not fully R5RS compliant...
, provides the Palm platform with a GPL-licensed onboard Lisp REPL with some Palm OS-specific adaptations, but although it is functionally a compiler it does not produce code that operates outside the development environment, so its use is restricted to prototyping.
A free development tool, LaFac, works directly on the Palm device, using the Memo Pad for source code editing, and provides support for a limited subset of C, Pascal, and Basic.
Legal issues
Palm OS has been involved in various lawsuits over the years.Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
vs. Palm Computing (1997) In 1997, Xerox was granted a patent (5,596,656) on "unistroke." It filed suit against Palm (then U.S. Robotics
U.S. Robotics
USRobotics Corporation is a company that makes computer modems and related products. It sold high-speed modems in the 1980s, and had a reputation for high quality and compatibility. With the reduced usage of voiceband modems in North America in the early 21st century, USR is now one of the few...
), alleging that Graffiti
Graffiti (Palm OS)
Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...
infringed on this patent. The Palm OS switch from Graffiti 1 to Graffiti 2 was triggered by Palm losing this suit to Xerox. The patent was overturned in May 2004 due to prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
.
Pilot Pen Corporation
Pilot Pen Corporation
is a Japanese pen manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan. It produces writing instruments, stationery, and jewelry but is most well known for its pens. It is the third largest pen manufacturer in the United States and the largest in Japan...
vs. Palm Computing (1998) The original name for Palm OS handhelds was Pilot. However, a lawsuit from Pilot Pen Corporation forced a name change to PalmPilot, then eventually to Palm.
Palm vs. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
(1998) In 1998, Microsoft planned to name the next version of their handheld computing platform "Palm PC". Palm filed suit against Microsoft, forcing the name change to, first, Palm-sized PC, and later, Pocket PC
Pocket PC
A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
.
E-Pass Technologies vs. Palm, Microsoft and HP (2000) In 2000, E-Pass Technologies filed suit against Palm, alleging that its handhelds infringed on an E-Pass's patent (#5,276,311) for a multi-function, credit card-sized computer that allows users to securely store account numbers, PIN codes, etc.. This lawsuit continues.
NCR
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation is an American technology company specializing in kiosk products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. Its main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check...
vs. Handspring
Handspring (company)
Handspring was a maker of Palm OS-based Visor- and Treo-branded personal digital assistants. It was run by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan, the original inventors of the Palm Pilot and founders of Palm Computing, after they became unhappy with the direction in which 3Com was taking...
and Palm (2001) In 1987, NCR was granted a patent for a portable e-commerce terminal. In 2001, NCR sued Handspring and Palm. This case was ruled without merit in 2002, a decision that was upheld on appeal.
RIM
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
vs. Handspring (2002) In 2002, Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
(makers of the BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
), sued Handspring. By year end, both Handspring and Palm licensed the patents and the suit was dropped.
Peer-to-Peer Systems vs. Palm (2002) Also in 2002, Peer-to-Peer systems filed lawsuit against Palm that alleges Palm infringed on its patent for wireless gaming. This lawsuit has been settled as of Feb 9th 2005.
Forgent Networks
Forgent Networks
Asure Software is a software company which has licensing as its primary revenue source. Prior to September 13, 2007, the company was known as Forgent Networks. Critics claim Asure profits primarily as a patent troll...
vs. HP, Toshiba, palmOne, etc., etc. (2004) Starting in 2002, Forgent Networks
Forgent Networks
Asure Software is a software company which has licensing as its primary revenue source. Prior to September 13, 2007, the company was known as Forgent Networks. Critics claim Asure profits primarily as a patent troll...
began offering licenses for a patent that encumbers JPEG. In 2004, it filed suit against various companies, including palmOne. The JPEG or 672 patent has been reviewed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office which has rejected 19 of the 47 claims based on prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
.
See also
- List of Palm OS devices – Includes Emulators
- Access Linux PlatformAccess Linux PlatformThe Access Linux Platform , once referred to as a "next-generation version of the Palm OS" is an open source-based operating system for mobile devices developed and marketed by Access Co., of Tokyo, Japan. The platform includes execution environments for Java, classic Palm OS, and GTK+-based native...
– planned successor of the Palm OS - Palm DesktopPalm DesktopPalm Desktop is a personal information manager computer program for Microsoft Windows or Mac OS/Mac OS X and can be used alone or in combination with a Palm OS personal digital assistant.-Features:...
- Graffiti (Palm OS)Graffiti (Palm OS)Graffiti is an essentially single-stroke shorthand handwriting recognition system used in PDAs based on the Palm OS. Graffiti was originally written by Palm, Inc...
- Palm webOSPalm webOSHP webOS is a mobile operating system based on a Linux kernel, initially developed by Palm, which was later acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Palm, HP, and most commentators and sources write the name webOS, as shown in the adjacent logo, and in HP resources, rather than "WebOS".webOS was introduced by...
- Palm, Inc.Palm, Inc.Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
- PalmSource, Inc.