I suppose it makes sense, the idea the handset vendors are winnowing the list of 3rd part OSes they support.

The natural trends seems to be that these devices are becoming ever more software driven.  So it seems logical that the handset vendors get out of the OS business and leave it to the experts.  And fewer operating systems overall are healthy for the ecosystem because it becomes easier to ensure compatibility, and makes life easier for everyone building mobile applications.

Yet I was still very disappointed to not see a mention of the Palm OS in the recent NY Times piece As Mobile Phones Grow More Complex, Carriers Insist on Fewer Operating Systems.

"Last year, two-thirds of smart phones sold ran on Symbian’s operating system, an increase of about four percentage points from 2005, according to Canalys, a consultant and market research firm based near London. Microsoft was second last year with a 14 percent market share, slightly less than the year before, followed by Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry, with 7 percent, and Linux, with 6 percent, according to Canalys."

I have been a loyal Palm OS smartphone user, and have enjoyed my Palm PDAs and phones for years, while many I know have grumbled about their Windows-based phones.

Despite the great media reviews of Palm systems and tepid reviews I have seen for Windows-based phones, mediocrity is apparently (yet again) prevailing.  I suppose before long I will be forced to join the crowd.