Palm to unveil Android rival at CES

 

Gallery

By Stuart Turton

Posted on 16 Dec 2008 at 11:15

Palm will take the covers off its new mobile operating system, Nova, at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

According to a report in Businessweek, the long-touted operating system will be aiming to bridge the gap betwen RIM's business-orientated BlackBerry and the iPhone, the so called "fat middle" of the consumer market.

The company is aiming to grab 2% of the mobile operating market. A goal it intends to hit by pushing Nova out to a myriad of different devices, including smartphones, handheld games consoles and possibly eBook readers.

The article suggests Palm is putting a large focus on power consumption, and crafting an operating system that can offer iPhone-like functionality without the power drain of the popular smartphoe.

Intruigingly, it also claims Nova will be able to make smarter use of information - for example "your smartphone could send you an e-mail the day before your next business trip, advising you on the weather conditions in your destination city."

There's no doubt Palm needs to unveil something fairly spectacular at CES. The company's share price has dropped almost 80% since 2007.