Palm OS 5 sneak peek

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This story was printed from CNET Asia.
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Palm OS 5 sneak peek

By Ernest Khoo
25/04/2002
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,39040080,00.htm

Note: With help from our colleagues in US, we've managed to update some of the information in our comparison chart. The most obvious change is the removal of the "Program execution" comparison, where we previously mentioned that OS 5 supports multi-threading (i.e. running multiple tasks at the same time) while OS 4 does not. Apparently, multi-threading support is built into hardware devices and not related to the Palm OS. It's up to hardware developers to take advantage of multi-threading. Other updates are in italics.

When PalmSource, Palm's operating system unit, previewed the Palm OS version 5 at the PalmSource conference in San Jose earlier this year, participants got a chance to see a test version of Palm's next-generation OS in action. Touted by the handheld manufacturer as the "foundation for the future of mobile computing", the brand new OS is expected to provide future Palm-powered devices the capabilities and features needed in a wireless, multimedia environment.

Although Palm licensees are probably now already working on new products using a beta version of the new OS, the general consumer will probably not know too much of what OS 5 is all about. In a nutshell, OS 5 will provide support for more powerful ARM-based processors, greater security, multimedia capabilities, and wireless connectivity. All these features will make a Palm-based device more powerful and, hopefully, more attractive to enterprises which are looking for a secured, feature-rich handheld.

According to various reports, the final version of Palm OS 5 is expected to be ready in the second half of this year. Devices running the new OS will be available after that. However, do keep in mind that OS 5 can be customized to suit any Palm licensees. This means that while OS 5 supports, for example, 320 x 320-pixel screens, licensees don't have to create that if they want to stick with a 160 x 160-pixel screen. Hence, devices running OS 5 may or may not be similar, depending on how licensees design their devices.

While we don't know the specifics of the new OS, PalmSource has revealed a number of features that makes the OS radically different from the current OS 4. Here, we give you a preview of some of the features embedded in the new OS, and compare these to those currently on OS 4. Do note that since Palm OS 5 is still a product in development, details are subject to changes.

Palm OS 4 and OS 5 side-by-side

Features	Palm OS 4	Palm OS 5
Processor support	As a 16-bit OS, it supports the Motorola 68000 series chips. Currently, all Palm devices are powered by a Dragonball processor.	Will support ARM-based processors from companies like Motorola, Intel, and Texas Instruments. This means that processing power of 32-bit OS 5 handhelds can run 2 to 20 times faster than current devices.
Backward compatibility	Software for older versions, if written properly, will be able to run on OS 4 devices.	To protect investment in older software, OS 5 supports the Application Programming Interface (API) of OS 4. So the new OS will be able to run software that is fully compliant with OS 4.
Hacks	Hacks are software designed by third-party developers to add new features to the operating system. Hacks work on OS 4 but rely on unsupported programming interfaces.	Current hacks, in general, will not be supported in OS 5. However, there may be other ways to create hacks for the new OS.
Security	Basic security available include locking the device and hiding records. However, there's no support for stronger 128-bit encryption except through third-party solutions.	OS 5 will have robust security options and offer a system-wide 128-bit encryption, including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) services for secure Internet transactions, as a standard feature. Previously, Palm mentioned that a new authorization and authentication manager will allow various methods of restricting access and identification via biometric verfication (voice, fingerprints or handwriting) and smart cards. Apparently, none of these are built into OS 5 but Palm says that third-party developers will be able to build these solutions.
Wireless support	OS 4 has drivers and APIs that support wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, GSM, CDMA, and 2.5G/3G networks.	OS 5 extends the native support to include 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless networks.
Graphics user interface (GUI)	Screen resolution of 160 x 160 pixels is standard for OS 4. Sony, however, was able to tweak the OS such that it supports 320 x 320 pixels on the CLIEs. User interface is consistant with previous versions of the Palm OS.	Screen resolution in multiples of 160 x 160-pixels, such as 320 x 320 and 480 x 480, are supported. There is no native support for other screen aspect rations, such as the QVGA 320x240 offered on the HandEra 330. Enhancements to fonts, icons, graphics and other user interface elements will be made to take advantage of this feature. The OS is also now "theme-able" and different color themes are included.
Multimedia	Weak support for audio and video files.	Video and audio capabilities improved with a new set of APIs that developers can harness to deliver multimedia apps and solutions. While there is no built-in video subsystem, the new processors should allow third-party developers to create better video playback software.
Web browsing	No built-in Web browser. However, third-party solutions are available.	PalmSource will provide a new, standards-compliant browser for OS 5. Palm's current Web browser requires a proxy server to adapt Web pages for the Palm's small screen. By the time OS 5 ships, Palm expects to have a Web browser that doesn't need a proxy server to transcode Web content.