| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Palm OS was originally developed by Jeff Hawkins for use on the original Pilot PDA by US Robotics. Version 1.0 was present on the original Pilot 1000 and 5000 and version 2.0 was introduced with the PalmPilot Personal and Professional.
With the launch of the Palm III series version 3.0 of the OS was introduced. Incremental upgrades occurred with the release of versions 3.1, 3.3 and 3.5, adding support for color, multiple expansion ports, new processors and other various additions.
Version 4.0 was released with the m500 series, and later made available as an upgrade for older devices. This added a standard interface for external FS access (such as SD cards) and improved telephony libraries, security and UI improvements.
Version 5.0 was introduced with the Tungsten T and was the first version released to support ARM devices. Described as a stepping stone to full ARM support, Palm apps are run in an emulated environment called the Palm Application Compatibility Environment (PACE), decreasing speed but allowing great compatibility with old programs. New software can take advantage of the ARM processors with ARMlets, small units of ARM code. It was also roughly this time when Palm began to separate its hardware and OS efforts, eventually becoming two companies, PalmSource, Inc. (OS) and palmOne, Inc. (hardware). Further releases of PalmOS 5 have seen a standardised API for hi-res and dynamic input areas, along with a number of more minor improvements.
Palm OS 5.2 and 4.2 (and later) also feature Graffiti 2, due to the loss of a patent infringement lawsuit with Xerox. This is based on Jot by CIC.
PalmSource, Inc. released Palm OS Cobalt (also known as Palm OS 6) to licencees on December 29th, 2003. This is to be the completion of the migration to ARM devices, and allow ARM native applications along with improved multimedia support. Currently no hardware products yet run Palm OS Cobalt. PalmSource, Inc. released Palm OS Cobalt 6.1, an update to Cobalt in September 2004. Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 features extended support for a variety of LCD panel resolutions, redesigned telephony components, one-handed navigation and extensive use of scalable fonts throughout applications.
The Palm's Address program stores personal information, keyed by any of several user-definable categories. Entries are displayed and sorted in last name, first name order (this can be changed only to Company, Last Name order). There are five slots for phone or e-mail, each of which may be designated Work, Home, Fax, Other, E-mail, Main, Pager or Mobile (the slot designations cannot be changed).
Starting with the OS version 5.2.1 (which was released in the Tungsten T3, Tungsten E, Zire 72), PalmOne, Inc. release their own version of this application, called Contacts.
Calc turns the Palm into a standard 4-function pocket calculator with three shades of purple and blue buttons contrasting with the two red clear buttons. It sports square root and percent keys and has one memory.
It also has an option to display a running history of the calculations, much like the paper-tape calculators that were once common.
Date Book shows a daily or weekly schedule, or a simple monthly view. The daily schedule has one line per hour, between user-selected begin and end times. Clicking on an empty line creates a new appointment. Empty lines are croweded out by actual appointments, whose start and stop times are shown by default bracketed in the left margin.
An appointment can be heralded by an alarm, any number of minutes, hours or days before it begins. These alarms sound even when the unit is switched off.
Appointments can recur in a specified number of days, weeks, months or years -- and can contain notes.
Starting with the OS version 5.2.1 (which was released in the Tungsten T3, Tungsten E, Zire 72), PalmOne, Inc. released their own version of this application, called Calendar. It allows categorisation of events, as well as featuring a summary screen similar to that found on PocketPC devices.