Motorola adds Palm OS for wireless devices

Motorola announced it has agreed to license 3Com's popular Palm operating system for hand-held computers. Motorola will use the Palm OS to enhance its lineup of wireless Web devices. "We see a whole new category of wireless devices emerging that combine popular PDA personal digital assistant platforms with wireless communications," Merle Gilmore, president of Motorola's Communications Enterprise. "By combining the widespread appeal of the Palm operating system with the exploding demand for wireless communications, we will be able to provide people with the personal networking capabilities they want and need."

Analysts noted that Wireless Web technology is still in its infancy. Tech companies haven't yet determined whether phones, handheld computers or some other device will win over most consumers. "There are going to be lots of different products out there for wireless data and I don't think we know exactly what they're going to look like. Companies are working to figure out what the killer application is going to be to make wireless data really take off," said Robert Wilkes, telecommunications analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman.

Motorola, earlier, announced support for the EPOC system from Britain's Psion. Analysts speculate that Motorola is simply hedging its bets, and wants to be in position to move with the market, which ever direction consumers end up driving it.