Palm Cobalt OS to ship with new devices next year

PalmSource has completed development of Palm Cobalt, the first version of its handheld operating system designed specifically for smartphones. The new platform is backwards compatible with existing Palm applications and hardware and is designed to work on both connected and unconnected handhelds. The company promised that 11 new devices using the operating system will begin shipping by the end of next year. "This is designed from the ground up for smartphone operating systems," said Chris Dunphy, product marketing manager for PalmSource. The platform includes version 3.0 of PalmSource's web browser, enhanced installer software to make application upload and control easier, and a Palm Developer Suite to encourage third parties to develop new applications for the platform. Voice and dialling technologies have also been beefed up to allow easier device telephony and even interrupt synchronisation to prioritise voice services.