Palm OS 4.0
A new Palm OS is shipping in a few devices, and will be available to more in the future.
Here are some of the highlights of what will be included. This is not a complete list:
Expansion Memory Support
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Expansion memory was already available in the HandSpring and TRG Pro devices before OS 4.0. OS 4.0 makes it more standard. It is the ability to plug-in RAM and other storage devices into a Palm. The current expansion technologies are:
1 - SD/MMC: a little card the slips into a slot. Used on digital cameras. Supported by both Palm and Handera.
2 - MemoryStick: Only found on Sony devices. It is a little longer and thinner than SD. Compatible with Sony digital cameras.
3- Compact Flash: Bigger than the others, but has a ton of industry support. IBM even makes a 1GB Compact Flash hard disk! Currently only Handera supports it
4- SpringBoard: Only found on HandSpring devices. Much bigger, but more versatile than the other technologies. There are some differences in functionality, too. HandSpring and Handera's software allow the most access to the memory. You can load Palm programs on these cards, and most of them will work. You can even load some kinds of data on these cards as well, like Doc files, and Bibles.
However, Sony and Palm's expansion offerings require more developer effort. If you put a program on an external card in one of these, the alarms for that program will no longer work, the Find command will not work for that program, and you will not be able to beam to that program. Developers can work around these problems, but it's hard. Also, programs must be changed to be able to access data on these cards. Expect that developers will require some time to support these technologies fully.
Attention Manager
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Do you hate having to constantly press OK to a big list of alarms before you can see what is underneath? OS 4.0 now puts all your alarms on one screen at a glance. Check off the alarms you want to cancel, or just press the snooze button to make them all go away for 5 minutes. This will require developers to modify their programs to support it, but fortunately it is not too difficult an effort.
Connection capabilities
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The new operating system will have the ability to view Web sites like the Palm VII. You will have to provide the connection, either through a modem, wireless modem, or cell phone. Sprint has announced a partnership with Palm to create cell phones that support this.
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Operating System Updates
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