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• Not all analysts in the mobile space see the evolution of their market in exactly the same way. Carmi Levy, senior research analyst with Info-Tech Group, sees a more platform-centric convergence in the handheld space, the shape of which is not so much determined by the carriers' choices as by the flow of software that makes applications possible. "Windows Mobile-on-Palm smartphones and RIM-on-Intel processors represent the future direction of the converged handset and infrastructure market," Levy told TG Daily. "Microsoft, RIM, and Intel, in particular, have well-established track records of delivering solutions directly to IT," Levy continued. "Although Palm's route into IT has been somewhat more circuitous, it, too, has been building credibility in the enterprise space of late. The Microsoft deal merely strengthens its position as a trusted vendor." Palm's upcoming Treo 700w smartphone One of the more surprising outcomes of the Windows/Palm deal is the perceived sublimation of the Palm OS. As embraced by its users as Mac OS X is by its own devoted fans, Palm OS is currently produced by PalmSource, which was spun off from its parent, Palm Computing, in October 2003, to form PalmSource. At that time, PalmSource claimed Palm OS was installed on over half of all handheld devices in production. That same month, Palm Computing merged with the company formed by its resigned founders, Handspring, to become "palmOne," a name distinguished from "PalmSource" by its lower-case "p." The nomenclature didn't last long, as someone had to be "Palm." So both companies found themselves redefining their other halves: PalmSource by taking over China MobileSoft, a producer of cell phone software; and the newly rechristened hardware manufacturer Palm, Inc., trying to reabsorb its own offspring. But in early September, Palm's bid for PalmSource was bested by Access Co., Ltd., a Japanese producer of handheld-based Web browsers. While this didn't leave Palm without an OS, it was expected to find another partner. Although Microsoft claimed the partnership between it and Palm took years to ripen, the timing of Palm's Treo announcement late last month answered many late-breaking industry suspicions. Anyone who's studied the evolution of PC platforms over the past few decades knows how some platforms get orphaned, and how rarely they get rescued (CP/M, GEOS, DESQview/X, GEM, OS/2, BeOS). In Carmi Levy's book, add one name to that list. "PalmSource, which stumbled in delivering version 6, now finds itself fighting an uphill battle to convince its former owners, and the mobile/wireless market in general, that Palm OS will remain relevant in the middle of these powerful new hardware/software/carrier alliances," he told us. "Frankly, I don't see that happening. The market has already voted with its feet: Palm OS-based devices are in freefall, and the conditions are such that this trend will not be reversed. "Palm OS as we know it is dead," Levy added. While PalmSource's announced plans to move future versions to a Linux core may conceivably help it carve out a niche in the low-end of the market, "its long-held hope of appealing to the enterprise market is now history. IT's needs are being, and will be, nicely met by the remaining players." Dr. Gerry Purdy, principal analyst with MobileTrax, disagrees strongly. "I don't think that Palm is getting squeezed out," he told us. He believes PalmSource's move to Linux will make it "the dominant OS in the 3G [third-generation] phone market." Disagreeing with the notion that platforms are starting to define mobile computing, Purdy added, "What happened is that the OS has become less relevant in the wireless handheld world, but value added services have become more valuable." PalmSource's acquisition of Linux supporter China MobileSoft put them right where they need to be; and Access' purchase of PalmSource was also smart, he claims, because it gives their Web browser a reach outside of Japan. With Access as Palm's Linux supplier, and PalmSource continuing to be an applications supplier - despite Microsoft - Purdy believes "you'll see Palm become a major handset manufacturer in the wireless handheld space." That's not how Carmi Levy sees it at all. "At the end of the day, the exit of Palm OS as a contender in the enterprise market will be a good thing for IT," he told us. "It will force developers to refocus their attention on the remaining platforms that finally have the broad-based vendor support - handset, processor architecture, operating system, and carrier - required to deliver much richer applications to a mobile audience. This will also drive faster acceptance of standardized mobile development tools and processes." Joe Wilcox, senior analyst with JupiterResearch, does not see the "Exit" door for Palm just yet. "Most of the devices that Palm ships run PalmSource software," he reminded us. "So I think it would be way, way premature to write PalmSource off here." The fact that Windows Mobile was only announced for one Treo model, Wilcox said, should denote the limitation of Microsoft's new relationship with Palm. "Yes, Palm is licensing Windows Mobile, but it's toe-in-the-water stuff. PalmSource has a whole leg in the water, at least." However, PalmSource does have a job ahead of it, Wilcox added, in re-defining itself to a bewildered market. "It's now up to PalmSource to really articulate a clear road map for its products, and to begin delivering on some new capabilities as soon as possible."

• Are true computing platforms emerging in the mobile devices market?

  Sunnyvale (CA) - As handheld communications tools evolve into fully capable computing devices, you'd expect different factions among the multitude of brands to converge upon a handful of platforms - the software-based infrastructure around which computing systems are typically built. Motorola's A760 Linux-based smartphone In recent months, we've started to see increased signs of convergence activity. Mobile e-mail leader Research in Motion provided its BlackBerry Connect system for the Symbian OS, which is utilized by manufacturers such as Nokia, and presented through carriers such as T-Mobile and Cingular. Then last 27 September, RIM entered into a development agreement with Intel. Just a few days earlier, Palm stunned the mobile device market with its announcement that some new Treo smartphones (including one that will probably be called Treo 700w) would be endowed with Windows Mobile in place of the once-venerable Palm OS. This as Motorola continues to make steady inroads, as it has since 2003, in introducing Linux into handheld devices. If handheld computers and personal computers are, as some have argued, merging together, then you should be seeing some evidence that the platforms that define PCs should extend their purview into the handheld realm. Platforms are what define PCs, much more so than even the brands of their manufacturers, as is evidenced by the many Tom's Hardware Guide readers who are themselves Windows or Linux system builders. The growing prominence of the Windows brand name and the Linux moniker in handhelds appears, at least on the surface, to be testament to the accuracy of this observation. But handheld devices are themselves merging with cell phones - communications devices - which means they're entering a market that many analysts argue is defined more by carriers than by platforms. "I think one departure from the PC world is that, in the wireless world, the carriers have a lot of say about what kinds of applications and features get installed on those phones," Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD Techworld, told TG Daily. By contrast, explained Rubin, PC manufacturers have a more limited voice in what applications get installed on their systems; and of course, users can make their own changes to that application set later. "Not a lot of consumers are moving to install software on their phones," he added, "and so the operating system does not feature as prominently into their choices." Rubin believes that Motorola's steadily increasing reliance upon Linux is "a bet on the commoditization of mobile phone operating systems" - not so much a response to some perceived customer demand for Linux on cell phones. Linux' strength in handheld devices is not so much a consequence of its technical capabilities as a computing platform, he argued, as it is a growing base of willing developers who are not only able but willing to provide PDAs with a plethora of applications, at least some of which are bound to be remotely useful. As this developer base grows, its center of power shifts from America to markets such as China and India. This developer base, Rubin concluded, is what Motorola relies upon to meet demands for functionality and applications...not from cell phone users, he said, but from the carriers that choose Motorola.

• The A747 from Athenatech. Athenatech's A747 is another case that we received for this review because of our last case review article. The folks at Athenatech asked us to take a look at the new A747, which is one of the latest cases that they have released. While you might or might not be familiar with Athenatech, they have over 6 years of experience in manufacturing professional computer cases and power supplies, including full tower, mid tower, mini tower and desktop in Taiwan. Athenatech GmbH has a factory located in Mainland China with a workspace of 40,000 square meters and more than 1,500 staff. They are able to offer a production capacity is about 600,000 units per month. They are a force in the case manufacturing business of building cases for leading OEM partners. They export their products to countries all over the world. This is the first time that they have submitted a product for review with THG. Their products are available from various distributors and worldwide, but they may or may not bear the Athenatech name and branding. Number Of Internal 3-½ Bays 4 Number Of External 3-½ Bays 2 Number Of External 5-¼ Bays 4 Number Of Case Fans Supported 3 Construction Material Steel Power Supply Included 300 Watt Special Features Locking Case, Blue Lighting Around Power Switch Size 470 x 438 x 210 mm Sample Case Provided By www.athenatech.us Estimated Cost $99 US Cooling Potential Rating 7 Construction Quality Rating 7 Overall Case Rating 7 A look inside the A747. The A747 might look a little plain from the outside, but it is built upon a foundation of total screwless use, which means that case doesn't use screws to access the case or the rails. The rails for the drives are built into the case of the drive bays and use the simple method of pushing the clip all the way to the left, and then insert the device.