Palm OS 5.0 Preview

Propane sent in an excerpt from Palm's Palm OS 5.0 Preview "Palm OS 5, the latest version of the world's leading mobile platform, redefines market expectations and creates new opportunities for licensees, for developers, and for end users. In addition to supporting ARM®-compliant processors from industry leaders Intel, Motorola, and Texas Instruments, Palm OS 5 also enhances multimedia capabilities, incorporates a suite of robust security options, and expands support for wireless connections. In providing these new capabilities, Palm OS 5 builds a foundation for the future of mobile computing while also maintaining compatibility with existing software. "

Comments

Thin on detail

[Sircus]

The article's fairly thin on detail. Other than the obvious and much-anticipated port to ARM, does anyone have any details on other new features? What are the new 'multimedia' features? How have they implemented this 'robust security'?

Most importantly, will Palm still be freely allowing development by releasing the SDK for free? (the move to ARM might have given them an opportunity to switch from gcc, thereby making this a question)

Re:Thin on detail

[HMC CS Major]

On the issue of multimedia:

Palm OS 5 incorporates a set of high-density APIs that double the screen resolution of a Palm Powered device -- from 160 x 160 pixels to multiples of 160x160 pixels. (These high-density APIs are compatible with software written for a 160 x 160 screen.) In addition to these video enhancements, audio capabilities have been improved with a new set of APIs for playing and recording 16-bit audio files.

Doubling the resolution, or tripling it, can provide much greater flexibility for apps that really do demand high resolutions to run nicely. This is a substantial step forward towards having real multimedia (decent quality movies/etc) on a handheld device.

On the issue of security:

Palm OS 5 offers system-wide strong encryption (128-bit) as a standard feature. Through a partnership with RSA Security, the leading encryption provider in the security industry, Palm OS 5 includes RC4, SHA-1, and signature verification using RSA-verify. This partnership with RSA Security ensures that best-of-class security services are available within Palm OS. An integral component of these security features is a plug-in cryptographic architecture, which allows the addition of other algorithms, such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), to meet specific market needs. Palm OS 5 also offers 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer encryption services (SSL 3.0/TLS 1.0) for secure end-to-end connections.

Seems reasonable to me. Tie this security into strong biometric authentication (voice, handwriting, fingerprints) and you have a much more secure handheld than ever before.