It’s sad to see the new Palm Pro running the Windows Mobile operating system. I know that other Palm devices released in the past have had Windows Mobile on them also, but the fact that the Palm Pro will feature this operating system is very disheartening. Palm is really pushing this device and wanting to compete with BlackBerry and the iPhone. The fact that it’s running Windows Mobile though just makes it just like every other smartphone on the market. Slow, clunky and missing many features. The PalmOS does a much better job with speed, ease of use and configurations. The WiFi features are what stands out the most. Windows Mobile doesn’t come close in this area.

The Palm Centro is still very popular and runs the PalmOS. It’s a great device at a great price. Still the push seems to be toward Windows Mobile lately, which can discourage seasoned PalmOS developers. As a result, we will soon see less and less applications available for PalmOS. An OS is only as good as the applications that run on it. I fear the PalmOS will soon fade away. Just like computers, smartphones will give us a choice between Apple or Microsoft.