Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 15 years and 2 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

I bought my very first PalmOS device (the Pilot 1000 by USRobotics) back in 1996 from an Elek-Tek in Castleton, Indiana … a total impulse buy. It only took me a few weeks to master Graffiti (I remember I actually started using Graffiti characters in my normal handwriting). I took a few shots at writing small applications, but mostly ended up contributing random text files to the community (some of which are still up on memoware.com). PalmOS wasn’t a multi-tasking operating system, but it was simple, elegant, and fast … and there were a ton of third-party developers writing apps for it.

While Palm did make minor changes to the OS as the years passed (support for higher resolution screens, color, more storage, etc.) the basic software stayed the same. It was a winning solution, though: compared to Windows Mobile devices (like the iPAQs or Jornadas) the Palms were easier to use, almost always faster, and had a slew of cool (usually free) applications. And of course there was HotSync, which kept the device backed up and in-sync with the Palm Desktop software on your PC. (Side note: try asking a Windows Mobile user if they can factory reset their device, then connect it to their PC and have ActiveSync put it back exactly the way it was before they did the reset. HotSync has been able to do that since 1996 … ActiveSync still can’t). These points all held true as the clunky but loveable PDA turned into the original clunky phone known as the Handspring Treo 180 (that I believe started the smartphone revolution) and eventually led to the vast array of Treo models we’ve seen over the past few years. I still love my Treo 680 because, while it may not be 3G or have a motion sensor in it, or multi-touch, it’s fast and it works.

Unfortunately, in a move I guess we all knew was coming once the Pre was unveiled at CES, Palm today announced that the current Centro will be the last PalmOS device produced by the company. webOS is still an unknown quantity, but I hope it can take PalmOS’s place in the hearts and minds of Palm lovers everywhere as a worthy successor.

I guess my next Treo might have to be the Treo Pro, unless a GSM Pre that runs GoodLink is released in the near future.