Recently, the first few screenshots of the ALP emerged-but all they were showing was a garnet app running under Palm OS ALP. The MAX UI still was not shown-and so people were speculating about how it could look. We at TamsPalm have dared to predict its look-but we didnt predict just one, but rather three variants:
BeOS style
PalmSource owns BeOS. So, why not use their GUI? I had BeOS running on my box a few years ago, and can say that it looks pretty cool. Here are a few screenshots(click for bigger versions):
CMS Linux/NetFront mobile client Style
CMS was also bought up by PalmSource a few monthsd ago-and they already have a nice operating system. So, one could theoretically also use their UI. A PalmSource employee sent me these pictures a long time ago-they are a little pixelated, but one still sees how it looks:
Extra shots of the new NetFront platform are available here:
http://www.access.co.jp/english/products/nf_mcs.html
Cobalt style
Possiblity number three is using the PalmOS Cobalt UI. This is probably well known from the simulator et al-so no pictures here!
Overall, I am not sure what they will choose. Cobalt is a very likely choice, as the code already exists in ARM and thus should be very easy to use. Also, it was designed for mobile usage. BeOS looks good and also is proven, but it still needs to be adjusted to mobile devices-and that is a lot of extra work. About the CMS/NetFront mobile platform, I am really not sure. It seems to be in use in Asia, but-um-not for smartphones. So, it may be a little to weak to support MAX applications.
What do you believe that we will see in MAX?
Related posts:
Content, RSS
Twitter
Wasn’t the new PalmOS GUI going to be based on GTK? I guess they’ll pick a nice clean GTK theme and put it on as default, letting the user install other themes as she wishes. My current bet is on Clearlooks or something similar
From what I understand, Cobalt was driven by the incoming BeOS staff in terms of both it’s functionaliy and looks. Unfortunately it didn’t get adopted due to overly complex hardware validation requirements and from all accounts it being slightly sluggish.
I hope they don’t use GTK as the base UI. It is indeed functional but I would prefer something more like the old Palm OS style launcher.
Hi,
thats indeed a fourth option-use a GNU application.
But the problem I see with that is what will then let them stand out from mobile Unix/Linux distros that are available for free?
Best regards and thanks for talking back
Tam Hanna
As a pragmatist, I hope they use whatever they can get well debugged and out the door fastest!
I would expect to see an evolution of the current look and feel – given that there is a loyal Palm userbase out there. Too much change might make people think the UI no longer looks like a Palm. Actually Cobalt is a nice update of Garnet in terms of feel – it looks like a Palm but has a more polished feel…
Hi,
this is something that I also hope for silently. An UI that still is as simple to use as the PalmOS one we know now. However, integrating a program like SkinUI or Palmrevolt(or how was the other one called once again??) may also be a great idea…
Best regards and thanks for talking back
Tam Hanna