Kyocera Wireless Corp. and Sony Corp. last month announced devices based on Version 4.1 of Palm OS, just as PalmSource Inc. was announcing new features for Version 5.
The Kyocera 7135 is a clamshell-shaped smart phone with a color screen that runs on CDMA2000 1X networks. It features Global Positioning System technology, an expansion slot compatible with MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital card standards, and a built-in MP3 player.
The Kyocera 7135 includes a speaker- phone; voice-activated dialing; two-way Short Message Service text messaging; Qualcomm Inc.s Eudora e-mail; and three means of Internet access—HTML, Web clipping and Wireless Application Protocol. For people who want to surf the Web on something other than a phone, the 7135 can attach to a notebook PC to act as a wireless modem.
The device is due next quarter, officials in San Diego said. Pricing is up to carriers but will probably be in the $500 range, the officials said.
Meanwhile, building on its Clié line of PDAs (personal digital assistants), Sonys PEG-T665C is a PDA with 16MB of internal memory and a lithium-ion battery, a high-resolution display, a built-in MP3 player, a Memory Stick expansion slot, a jog-dial navigator, and the ability to act as a remote control.
It costs $399 and is available for order at Sonys Web site.
Sony has announced plans for devices built on Palm OS 5, which supports the ARM processor. The operating system is in developers hands, but other than Palm Inc., no other Palm OS licensee has announced plans to support it, although PalmSource executives insist its only a matter of time.
“The future is ARM,” said Steve Sakoman, chief product officer at PalmSource, in Santa Clara, Calif. “Over time, everyone is going to move to that.”
PalmSource is doing all it can to show that Palm OS 5 offers more than support for a faster chip, officials said.