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Palm OS revision now due in first half of 2009

The company once hoped to get the Linux-based Palm OS II out in early 2009, but is now saying to expect it sometime in the first half of 2009, which generally means summer.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
Tom Krazit
A new operating system for Palm may not arrive until the middle of next year, instead of early next year. CNET

Palm's bid to join the modern era of mobile computing will have to wait a little longer.

The company reported yet another quarterly loss last week, and The Register noticed that Palm CEO Ed Colligan has tweaked the shipping expectations for the company's new Linux-based operating system, known as Palm OS II. Once thought to arrive in early 2009, the new operating system is now targeted for the first half of 2009, which generally means May-June 2009 in the tech industry.

Palm has managed to keep its brand afloat over the past year with the success of the Centro, an inexpensive version of the Treo. Palm sold more than 1 million smartphones during the past quarter, but it's not clear whether Palm actually makes any money on the sale of a Centro. The company reported a net loss of $41.9 million for the quarter.

If it wasn't for Palm's decision to embrace the Windows Mobile operating system--used on its latest Treo Pro handset--the company might have gone out of business long ago. The current version of Palm OS was first introduced in 2004 and hasn't really been updated since 2006. An awful lot has changed in this market since then, and Palm desperately needs new software to challenge the likes of Apple, Research In Motion, Symbian, and now Google.