Palm stops TealOS in its tracks
By Will Park on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 11:41 AM PST In Announcements, Palm, Palm OS, Palm Pre, Web OS
When TealPoint Software unveiled its WebOS look-alike interface for Palm (NSDQ: PALM) OS smartphones, the mobile world took notice. TealOS, as it’s called, has been heralded for breathing new life into aging Palm OS-powered handsets like the Palm Centro. The TealOS application launcher features UI elements that mimic the upcoming Palm Pre’s WebOS – features like a “wave launcher” that can be called up from any application, card-based task management and support for swipe gestures. And, therein lies the problem.
The TealOS’s similarity to the not-yet-released WebOS is apparently a sticking point within Palm. Palm is apparently looking to keep all things WebOS locked down to the Palm Pre – Palm doesn’t want any WebOS copy-cats distracting customers from the Palm Pre. TealPoint Software has announced that Palm’s legal beagles have forced their hand in killing off TealOS.
Says TealPoint:
I’m sorry to say that at Palm’s request, as of this upcoming Monday, March 30, we will no longer be selling or distributing TealOS…..
TealOS users are encouraged to find a stable TealOS release and backup a copy for their own records:
For those of you who have already purchased the product, your copies will continue to function, of course, but we encourage you to download the latest beta copies to insure you have a stable version you are happy with and back it up to a safe place, as you’ll no longer be able to download it after Monday. We’ll continue through the weekend to try to get as many bug fixes and requested improvements in as we can before then.
We’re sad to see Palm users being forced to deal with the now-ancient Palm OS sans the TealOS. But, seeing as how the Palm Pre may launch next month, we probably won’t have to be sad for too long.
[Via: TreoCentral]
Palm should allow the TealOS to be sold in Europe and Asia. They do not have a Pre for these areas and therefore the software is not in competition with the Pre.
Actually, since the Pre is not a PalmOS device I fail to see how it is a competitor for existing PalmOS users, soon you will not be able to buy a PalmOS device.
I am unlikely to ditch my Treo 680 for the Pre without looking at all other smartphones since the Pre has no Palm derived advantage over any of them anyway. If Access and Google put the PalmOS emulator on Android, then there is a OS with significant advantage and likely to be running my next phone
GET EM PALM GET EM PALM WE IN HERE THE PALM PRE WILL DROP ON JUNE FOR $199 I WORK FOR SPRINT AND PALM.