Palm one to microsoft

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Do pda's work like a computer where you can switch between operation systems? I"m asking this because I have a garmin ique3200 and it runs palmone and I read somewhere that this os might not be used as much as it is today or not at all, and if that happens to be true would I be able to switch oses?

[CalsonicGTR]

I'm kinda confused by your question. Are you asking if it is possible to switch OS'es between PDAs? If thats the question, then the answer is generally no. You cant switch OS'es between PalmOne devices and PocketPC devices, pretty much because the device is designed to specifically run one OS. Also, there usually isnt enough space to convert a Palmone device to PocketPC. The only OS that you can possibly switch to is a pocket version of Linux.

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What I mean is, could switch to microsoft windows mobile if I wanted to?

[CalsonicGTR]

Nope, I dont think it is possible. First off, your device was designed to run a Palmone OS, so Windows Mobile would be incompatible with your device. Also, Microsoft doesnt sell Windows Mobile in any form (expect preinstalled) AFAIK. Your best bet is to try and update your Palmone OS to a more modern version.

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I'm not having problems with it, just wanted to know cause I read that PalmOne might be discontinued.

[CalsonicGTR]

I dont think Palmone will be going anywhere anytime soon.

[sunrunner20]

Sorry to put it this way but for all practical purposes, It is flat out imposable, you will be utterly unable to get window CE on to a PalmOne PDA. Windows CE has a larger footprint than PalmOS, and PalmOne PDA's are simply not designed to handle such a large system. Anther problem would occur even if you CE does fit on a PalmOne PDA, how would you get the OS on to the systems memory? To my knowledge Ipaq's are the only thing you can really switch OS's on and they will only covert over to Linux.

Also, PalmOS is stabler than windows in my experience. I believe that the only reason PalmOne is not as popular as hell is because Microsoft is practically paying the companies to use their product.

On the other hand, You might be able to get Linux working on a PalmOne. There is another thread on the subject in this forum, I would check it out.

[CrashOveride]

Well, it is kinda like PC. You'd have to have all the drivers for the hardware in the OS. That's why PDA manufacturers have to release per-PDA OS updates. In order to have a good OS for that type of a computer it has to be well optomized and of course support the hardware. And besides that (practicly impossible step) it probably wouldn't fit or run well like sunrunner said.

[gt24]

Windows Mobile is released to pocket pc designers in an incomplete state. The designers then complete the OS by making it work for that paticular device by coding drivers and other small utilities. In the end, the OS is similar to other windows mobile devices yet there are differences. On my Dell Axim, I have a Dell Wifi utility, an Odysey client (if I choose to do wifi a different way), and a system utility (to check out my revision number to see if I need updates) among other things. A Toshiba device using the same OS uses a different wifi utility and I don't think it has a system utility, although I don't have much experience with the Toshiba device.

Each device has something special in it that gives you a hint that the OS there isn't exactly the same as the other devices, even though the OS has the same name. These finishing touches makes the OS from one device completely incompatible with another device.

Same with Linux, it needs developers to make the OS work on a specific device, to add finishing touches (drivers mostly) to make it work on that device. In other words, if you grab a version of linux for another pda, don't expect great results on your pda.

However, somebody might be creating a version of linux for your device, something to research I bet (you'll have to Google for that though).

Lastly, if PalmOne disappeared tomorrow, there wouldn't be a large effect on you. The software you run on your specific pda's OS is made not only by PalmOne but also other companies and as long as that OS is being used by a ton of people there will be companies making new software for it.

I don't think PalmOne will be going anywhere soon though, so don't worry too much about it. :)

[aeiou]

Just to clear it up a bit... palm one no longer has anything to do with the operating system. They only make the hardware. Palm source makes the os and distributes it to palmone and other manufacturers. The os is PalmOS, not palmone.

IMHO, PalmOS is WAY better than windows mobile. It is faster (yeah, even with those pocketpc's 400mhz+ processors), smaller, easier to use, and has a better interface than windows for a pda. The only reason I have beeen somewhat contemplating my next pda to be a pocketpc is because palmone has been puting out some pretty flakey hardware lately and I don't really see anyone else's palm based systems that I like (the sony clie's come close, but I hate memory stick for expansion).