Palm updates webOS; CEO defends company's strategy

Palm issued an update to its webOS operating system that includes improved enterprise features. Meanwhile, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein found himself defending his company's strategy webOS.

The 1.3.1 version of the OS now adds Yahoo synchronization support along with Yahoo Instant Messenger with messaging notifications revealing the contact number of the sender. Palm also supports more types of mail at setup, including Google Apps and Yahoo small business domain email accounts. Exchange 2003 users can select alphanumeric passwords regardless of whether the service requires this type of password. Various security updates are also included with the firmware.

In an interview with the New York Times, Rubinstein said Palm's webOS has a leg up on Android because Google's operating system has not yet attracted mass appeal. 

"Android, and the Droid in particular, are designed for the techie audience," Rubinstein said, referring to the Motorola Droid, which Verizon Wireless launched earlier this month. "We are doing a more general product that helps people live their lives seamlessly." Nevertheless, Android has attracted support from a number of device makers, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as well as wireless carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA in the United States.

Rubinstein said that companies like Palm and Apple, which work on both smartphone hardware and software in-house, will have a distinct advantage over those that have to rely on third parties for software. "The companies that will deliver the best products are the ones that integrate the whole experience--the hardware, the software and the services--and aren't getting one piece from here and one piece from there and trying to bolt it all together," he said.

However, a key piece of Palm's comeback will be gaining more carrier support for its devices and how well its two webOS devices, the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi, fare in a crowded smartphone market. Sprint, which is the sole U.S. carrier supporting the Palm Pre right now, just launched the lower-priced Palm Pixi this weekend for $99 with a two-year contract.

For more:
- see this InformationWeek article
- read this New York Times article
- take a look at this Barron's blog post

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