This presents an interesting look at the Linux future as it pertains to the future of Palm PDAs and smartphones. From what I have seen thus far, the move to a Linux base could be a positive thing for Palmsource. Having said this, the future has a way of changing trends on us and the mobile could become something so hybrid that we find that there is no PDA to place the Linux option onto at all.

As competition intensifies in the market for smart phone OSes (operating systems), PalmSource is looking at ways to carve out a piece of market share. Earlier this month, the company acquired China MobileSoft (CMS) in a move aimed not only at gaining additional smart phone expertise but also Linux know-how. At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, PalmSource unveiled four new applications that draw on its recent CMS acquisition. IDG News Service interviewed David Nagel, president and chief executive officer of PalmSource, shortly before the start of the wireless conference and exhibition, which runs through Thursday.

IDGNS: You appear to be making some significant shifts in your strategy, moving beyond PDAs to smart phones and even Linux. Why?

Nagel: Two years ago, we began to see the real growth opportunities in the handheld-computing market were shifting from stand-alone devices, like the original Palm Pilot, to devices that combine features of the handheld computer with communicator devices, whether it’s a smart phone or a BlackBerry-type device. We began refocusing our development efforts to serve that market, which we saw as the future.

Last summer, we brought out a product called Cobalt, which was our smart phone operating system. We have a number of products in development based on Cobalt.