Palm selects Wind River for Foleo Linux

Palm has selected Wind River Linux as its open standard Linux platform for future Pal Foleo software releases.

Palm selected Wind River Linux for its standard development and deployment environment that will help speed applications to market, while still meeting the requirements for a stable and robust open mobile platform. Along with the platform, Wind River is providing its Wind River Workbench development suite, professional services and customer support to help Palm and its development community attain the efficiencies needed to compete in the ever-changing mobile market. Today's announcement reaffirms Wind River's growing leadership as a mobile Linux provider.

Palm and Wind River will work to incorporate Wind River's Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition to the Foleo over the coming months. The Palm Foleo mobile companion is for people who understand that sometimes less is more. With the press of one button, the mobile companion's large screen displays wireless email from a paired smartphone. A smartphone is great for finding quick bits of information or sending a brief response to an email. But there are times when a full-size keyboard and a big screen is preferred to view attachments, type longer emails, or to get a bigger-screen look at web pages and photos. Plus, Internet access is available anywhere there is cell phone data coverage, or when the Foleo is within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot. With Foleo's instant on/off capability, light and small size, and 5-hour battery life, Palm expects the mobile companion to establish a new category of personal-computing products.

"By building the Foleo on an open Linux-based platform and publishing the tools developers need, Palm hopes to establish a vibrant developer community to create new applications that extend the mobile companion's built-in capabilities," said Mark Bercow, senior vice president, Business Development, Palm, Inc. "Wind River's open Linux platform gives us the reliability, performance and stability we need to continue driving innovation. Palm Foleo allows you to switch between applications at the touch of a button, play a game or write a memo, and synchronize your email. The Foleo makes you more productive than ever on the go."

With Wind River's solution, mobile manufacturers now have a low-risk choice for an OEM-grade mobile Linux platform, providing a robust development and operating platform. Wind River provides the full service and support of its technologies across a range of complex mobile devices. As a result, customers can leverage the benefits of roll your own (RYO) while receiving the efficiencies of developing on pre-integrated hardware and software.

"By offering an incredibly reliable architectural platform combined with an organization committed to operational excellence, Wind River is rapidly becoming the commercial Linux distributor of choice for mobile companies," said John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer, Wind River. "The stability and flexibility of Wind River's Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition, coupled with Wind River Workbench development suite give Palm the strategic platform and tools it needs to differentiate the Foleo and help it deliver a solid platform for developers."