PalmSource deal aims for enterprise wireless market

A new PalmSource initiative to port thousands of third-party Palm applications from a desktop synchronization model to an OTA (over-the-air) architecture for downloading could help prop open the door to Palm-based wireless applications in the enterprise.

PalmSource officials said last week the company is working with application developers, middleware providers, content providers, and wireless carriers to deliver OTA applications that will self-install and can be easily downloaded over a constrained bandwidth. 

Dubbed Palm Powered MobileWorld, the initiative will give users the ability to download applications from online software stores, offered by PalmSource or carriers via WANs and Wi-Fi networks.

With the possibility of 20,000 applications becoming available to wireless customers, Sprint quickly signed on to the program; before MobileWorld, the handheld device market had not roused much in the way of wireless-carrier interest or support.

“It was difficult to get traction,” said Kevin Packingham, director of business marketing at Sprint.

In bringing handheld applications to the cell phone market, Palm Powered MobileWorld should give carriers more content to offer their subscribers. In return, PalmSource expects to gain access to a huge market, which this year will see 17 million cell phones sold. This year’s handheld market, on the other hand, is expected to see fewer than 1 million units sold.

The one question remaining is whether enterprise IT will accept Palm-based applications.

“Two years ago, I would have said it was tough for Palm, but with Linux gaining acceptance, the enterprise is having more of a propensity to look at people outside of Microsoft. Now [Palm has] a real shot,” said Barney Dewey, senior partner at Outlook4Mobility.

“It’s a huge challenge, but there is a big payoff,” Dewey said.