As Palm tries to rebuild itself around smartphones that run WebOS, the company will scrap its efforts on other mobile operating systems.
In a recent conference call, Palm chief executive Jon Rubenstein said that "going forward, our roadmap will include only Palm webOS-based devices." That means Palm phones running Windows Mobile will soon be a thing of the past.
Currently, Palm sells Windows Mobile phones under its Treo line, including the Treo Pro and the Treo 700wx. Both combine a physical keyboard with a small touch screen display on top. They include standard Windows Mobile features such as Office Mobile and ActiveSync for synchronizing the phone with a computer.
In addition to the WinMo phones, Palm previously built products around its own Palm OS, such as the Centro and several Treo models.
Asked what would happen to the Treo line, Rubenstein said Palm will be "focusing all of our effort in the future on building webOS products." He added, however, that legacy Windows Mobile and Palm OS products would "be with us for a few quarters to come."
WebOS debuted in June with the release of the Palm Pre. Directly challenging the iPhone's inability to keep several applications open at once, Palm marketed the Linux-based WebOS on its multitasking abilities. Though the Pre itself didn't earn perfect reviews, WebOS was generally hailed as an excellent mobile operating system.
If the writing wasn't on the wall then, the announcement of a cheaper and less extravagant WebOS-based smartphone, the Palm Pixi, all but sealed the fate of WinMo in Palm's devices.
A good operating system can work wonders for a smartphone, and WebOS is versatile for both work and play. It just remains to be seen whether enough consumers can be convinced of this to save Palm from failure.
