.KEYWORD palmsource
.FLYINGHEAD PALMPOWER ANALYSIS
.TITLE Palm OS 5 and more debut at PalmSource 2002
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Palm, Inc., its partners, and third-party developers made a number of exciting announcements of interest to the enterprise market during the PalmSource Conference and Expo 2002. Contributing Editor Steve Niles tells you all about the major releases in this must-read article.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
The PalmSource Conference and Expo took place this past February 6-7 in San Jose, California. Open to the public for the first time, the PalmSource Expo allowed Palm OS device enthusiasts, including business professionals and students, to get a look at the future of Palm computing.
Palm, Inc. and its partners and third-party developers made a number of exciting announcements of interest to the enterprise market. We’ll take a look at a number of them here.
.H1 Keynote
You may have already heard that Palm has officially split its hardware and software into distinct subsidiaries. We learned at the PalmSource Expo that the new Palm OS subsidiary will now be known as PalmSource, Inc. Whether this was done to make things less or more confusing, we can’t be sure. At any rate, David Nagel is the president and chief executive officer of PalmSource, Inc., and it naturally fell to him to make the opening keynote address at the PalmSource Conference.
In his address, Nagel outlined a new strategy for driving rapid innovation into the mobile computing industry. He also previewed the Palm OS 5 operating system beta and highlighted the latest licensee and developer innovations.
.H1 Palm OS 5 Beta
PalmSource, Inc. previewed the Palm OS 5 beta, which they called, "The Foundation for the Next Generation of Mobile Devices." In the announcement they said the final delivery of the new operating system to Palm OS licensees is scheduled for early summer.
According to PalmSource, Inc. Chief Products Officer Steve Sakoman, "We are accelerating the pace of innovation. By supporting an open, flexible software base, licensees have the freedom to innovate and create differentiated products targeted at a variety of markets."
Palm OS 5 is designed to allow licensees to choose from a full range of processors, starting with the ARM 7 CPU and scaling to the highest-performance ARM chips from Intel, Motorola, and Texas Instruments. The operating system is also designed to offer enhanced performance, data security, multimedia, and wireless networking, as well as compatibility with existing Palm OS software programs.
Compatibility is a major issue. The Palm OS subsidiary said it is working closely with developers to ensure that current software programs will run on Palm OS 5. Software programs supporting application programming interfaces (APIs) based on Palm OS 4.0 and above should be compatible and run faster on Palm OS 5. The Palm OS 5 Compatibility CD with a preliminary version of Palm OS 5, tools, and 20 compatible software programs was being distributed to developers at the PalmSource conference.
The software compatibility with previous versions of Palm OS is important for the enterprise market because it protects corporate investments while reducing support costs. According to PalmSource, Inc., Palm OS 5 offers important enterprise functions, such as extended information security through a recently announced relationship RSA Security. Palm OS 5 offers strong 128-bit systemwide data-encryption services based on the RC4 encryption algorithm from RSA Security. In addition, end-to-end security is provided through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) services for email, Web browsing, and online transactions.
Other improvements in Palm OS 5 include the following:
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.BULLET Multimedia: the ability to record sound and play CD-quality digital audio;
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.BULLET Support for high-density screens (up to 320 x 320 pixels): doubles screen resolution, and new selectable color themes will let users customize devices;
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.BULLET Wireless: in addition to current support for WAN and Bluetooth, Palm OS 5 supports 802.11b for connections to wireless Local Area Networks.
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.H1 Palm OS compatibility tools
As was already mentioned, PalmSource, Inc. provided its development community with compatibility tools to ensure that existing software programs run smoothly on Palm OS 5.
More than 13,000 software programs run on the Palm OS today, exclusive of in-house software programs developed by enterprise organizations. Software programs that comply with Palm OS 4.0 APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are expected to work smoothly on Palm OS 5. The new tools will enable developers to test their applications to ensure continued support for the 20 million Palm OS devices in the market worldwide as well as to provide future support for new handhelds and smart phones.
The Palm OS 5 Compatibility CD given to the developers included a preliminary version of Palm OS 5, tools, and 20 compatible applications. Members of the Palm OS Developer Program download the tools from the Palm OS Web site (at http://www.palmos.com). The tools available include:
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.BULLET Palm OS 5 Simulator: runs on Windows NT and enables developers to test if their applications are compatible;
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.BULLET Palm Universal Debugger: enables developers to debug Palm OS applications and runs on Mac OS and Windows 95/98/NT platforms;
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.BULLET Constructor and PalmRez: enable developers to create and/or convert resources;
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.BULLET Conduit Development Kit for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET: takes advantage of the new COM environment and wizard support under Microsoft .NET;
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.BULLET Conduit Development Kit for Mac OS X: provides connection between Palm OS software programs and the Mac OS X desktop;
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.BULLET Third-party developer tools: enable developers to continue to use their current tools, such as CodeWarrior, Constructor, and GCC, to revise or create software programs that are compatible with the current Palm OS 4.0 and the future Palm OS 5.
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The Palm OS Developer Program has two levels to meet varying needs. Basic membership is free and provides Palm OS developers with development tools and resources, including source and sample code, technical documentation and online knowledgebase. The Advantage level targets developers who need to shorten their development cycles. It includes direct technical support, a quarterly resource CD containing the latest development tools and technologies, and marketing opportunities. More information on the program is available at http://www.palmos.com/dev/programs/pdp/.
.H1 Quickoffice Conference Edition
At the PalmSource Expo, Cutting Edge Software, Inc. (at http://www.cesinc.com) announced that Quickoffice Conference Edition was released for beta. Quickoffice Conference Edition (at http://www.quickoffice.com/solutions/es_conference.html) is a peer-to-peer data conferencing application designed to enable colleagues to collaborate on spreadsheets and documents in real-time using Palm OS based devices with a TCP/IP connection.
Quickoffice Conference Edition was built on Cutting Edge Software’s Conferencing & Collaboration Platform, which enables participants to simultaneously make edits to the same spreadsheet and see their changes take effect immediately on each of the participants’ devices. Similarly, using Quickword Conference Edition, participants review and edit documents in real-time. By holding a Quickoffice Conference, team members collaborate on projects in real-time regardless of location.
According to Cutting Edge Software, Quickoffice Conference Edition is the only application that allows two Palm OS devices to connect directly without an intermediate server. They claim nearly all Palm OS devices currently used among mobile professionals can be used for Quickoffice Conferencing, depending upon the model or the accessory used to obtain a TCP/IP connection.
Palm OS devices with integrated TCP/IP connectivity include the new Palm i705; smart phones such as the Samsung I300, Handspring Treo, and Kyocera 6035; and wireless WAN accessories such as the GoAmerica Minstrel Modem. Also supported are WLAN (Wireless LAN) equipped devices using 802.11b, such as the HandEra 330 with the Symbol Wireless Networker WLAN CF card for use in a office campus setting, or any Palm OS device with a dial up modem. Future support is planned for the Bluetooth personal area network protocol as well.
.H1 FilePoint and PrintBoy bundle
Bachmann Software (at http://www.bachmannsoftware.com) used the PalmSource Expo as an opportunity to announce that its Palm OS applications, FilePoint and PrintBoy, are available with other essential utilities as part of the Mobile Tools utility suite offered by Handmark. Mobile Tools is a suite of useful Palm OS utility applications designed to improve the handheld experience of Palm OS device users. Staples and CompUSA are already committed to carrying the product.
FilePoint provides users with a familiar "folder tree" style of file management, including the ability to create a hierarchy of folders, both on the device itself as well as on expansion cards. FilePoint now supports all major Palm OS devices, including those from Palm, Inc., Handspring, Sony, and HandEra.
PrintBoy is designed to enable users of all Palm OS handhelds to simply beam their data to an infrared-equipped printer to produce hard copies wirelessly. PrintBoy supports the printing of all native Palm Powered applications, including Date Book, Address, Memo Pad, To Do List, email, and clipboard, as well as many word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
Other applications included in the Mobile Tools bundle include Blue Nomad’s Backup Buddy (at http://www.bluenomad.com/bb/prod_backupbuddy_details.html), Handmark’s MobileSafe (at http://www.handmark.com/products/mobileam/index.html), SuperUtility (at http://www.handmark.com/products/superutility/index.html), Checklist (at http://www.handmark.com/products/checklist/index.html), and more. It retails for $49, which works out to about 70% below the cost of the standalone components.
.H1 Mailer and Pixer from Electric Pocket
Electric Pocket Limited (at http://electricpocket.com) introduced two new wireless messaging applications for Palm OS handhelds. The first, Mailer, is a POP3 email application that offers a multi-account email engine to enable users to receive only the email messages needed. The second, Pixer, enables users to send annotated picture messages and photographs from a Palm OS handheld.
.H2 Mailer
Electric Pocket’s Mailer was designed to suit the particular needs of mobile users, rather than imitating desktop email systems. It provides users with a unique system configurator designed to simplify the process of setting up email and getting online to begin mobile messaging. Once users are online, they can pick and choose which email accounts to check and how much of each message to download. According to Electric Pocket, the ability to pre-configure Mailer with default email settings makes it an ideal messaging choice for large-scale deployment to an end-user or subscriber community.
Interestingly, Electric Pocket believes that mobile messaging should provide options beyond simply including a "Reply" feature. They say the best way for a mobile device user to respond to an emailed message may sometimes be through a phone call, and Mailer supports this principle through tight integration with the handheld’s Address Book and telephony capabilities (if such exists). On handhelds equipped with Bluetooth, IR (infrared), or built-in telephony, Mailer gives users the option of replying to email messages with a phone call, as well as the traditional email reply. The phone call is automatically dialed from within Mailer, simplifying the reply process by offering the option of choosing a phone call versus emailed response.
.H2 Pixer
Electric Pocket first introduced picture messaging to Palm OS handhelds with its BugMe! Messenger application. Pixer is the next step, enabling you to send and receive picture messages and handwritten notes directly from a wireless PDA. Pixer is specifically designed for making picture messaging easier, as you can take advantage of the handheld computers’ screen and stylus when composing messages.
You can either import photographs into Pixer or choose from a catalog of templates featuring commonly used business stationery as well as cartoon characters. Pictures and photographs can be annotated directly with your own handwriting and then sent to any email address.
Electric Pocket plans to follow emerging MMS standards, and future versions of Pixer will bring full MMS messaging to handheld platforms. Support for new media types, including sound and animation, will be added to Pixer as the host platforms and networks support them.
.H1 Simplicity for Mobile Servers
The general availability of Simplicity for Mobile Servers was announced at the PalmSource Expo by Data Representations, Inc. (at http://www.datarepresentations.com). This new rapid application development software was shown for the first time in the Cingular Wireless booth.
Data Representations and Cingular built integrated server and Palm applications for attendees. Then they sent responses and requests via Palm.Net to a server based in New Jersey. The demonstration was designed to show how quickly and efficiently the network operates and how easy it is to program MIDlets and servlets in a J2ME and J2EE Java Enterprise Environment using Simplicity for Mobile Servers rapid application development tools.
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During the demonstration, pulling inventory information from a JDBC compliant database and returning XML to be parsed, cached, rendered, and displayed on a Palm i705 took only eight seconds or less on the Cingular Wireless Mobitex network. Simplicity wrote the application to use the network resources with the highest degree of efficiency.
I’ve chosen to spotlight Simplicity for Mobile Servers as PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition Product of the Month. You can learn more about how the product works in that article, elsewhere in this issue.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For the Palm OS Web site, visit http://www.palmos.com.
For more information on the Palm OS Developer Program, visit http://www.palmos.com/dev/programs/pdp/.
For more information on Cutting Edge Software, Inc., visit http://www.cesinc.com.
For more information on Quickoffice Conference Edition, visit http://www.quickoffice.com/solutions/es_conference.html.
For more information on Bachmann Software, visit http://www.bachmannsoftware.com.
For more information on Electric Pocket Limited, visit http://electricpocket.com.
For more information on Blue Nomad’s Backup Buddy, visit http://www.bluenomad.com/bb/prod_backupbuddy_details.html.
For more information on Handmark’s MobileSafe, visit http://www.handmark.com/products/mobileam/index.html.
For more information on SuperUtility, visit http://www.handmark.com/products/superutility/index.html.
For more information on Checklist, visit http://www.handmark.com/products/checklist/index.html.
For more information on Data Representations, Inc., visit http://www.datarepresentations.com.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Easy, flexible article reprints
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.BIO
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6fd7b
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