Palm speeds into in-car device market

Palm will today follow Microsoft into the in-car information systems biz, with the announcement of a deal with Delphi Automotive Systems to develop a PalmOS-based car dashboard device.

Delphi, we assume, will become a PalmOS licensee, using the OS as the basis for its in-car system. Quite what the device will do, we'll have to wait to find out, but it's not hard to imagine some kind of GPS-based navigation system combined with Net connectivity.

Whatever features the device offers, it's quite a coup for Palm, which has not only another new licensee under its belt - 'look how popular we are' - but can boast about the wide applicability of the Palm platform - 'we're not just PDAs'. ®