Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 19, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
“StyleTap CrossPlatform for Symbian OS” is to make it possible in future to run applications written for PalmOS on Symbian phones as well. This would open up a portfolio of over 20,000 existing programs to all Symbian users. The software is to run on both future and current mobile phones. The program is currently available in an alpha version; it is to come onto the market in the first quarter of 2008.
Users who switch from a Palm device to a new Symbian phone have the problem that they cannot take data and programs with them and continue using them on the new mobile phone. With the emulator available in future, switching to a new device would be easier, StyleTap says in a release. In addition to users, developers also benefit from the cross-platform software, whose PalmOS software would now run on an additional 145 million devices. “With our platform, we build a bridge between two worlds,” says StyleTap CEO Gregory Sokoloff. The emulator runs on the Symbian S60 3rd Edition systems as well as on UIQ 3. This covers a large part of the Symbian world, which includes products from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.
“Symbian has meanwhile established itself as the leading operating system on the market. Smartphones play an increasingly important role in mobile communication,” says David Wood, head of the development department at Symbian. The number of applications for the devices is rising continuously and “we are of course pleased that many more programs will now run on our platform in one fell swoop,” says Wood.
StyleTap has already offered emulator software for Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices for some time. StyleTap does not emulate the complete Palm operating system, but integrates individual Palm OS programs directly into Windows Mobile. Thus, the two systems run virtually in parallel; even the exchange of text by copy/paste is possible between the programs. The software is available at a price of around 50 dollars. The manufacturer has not yet commented on the pricing of the Symbian variant.