PalmSource Joins OSDL

BEAVERTON, Ore. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL or the Labs), a global consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux(R), and PalmSource, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSRC), today announced that PalmSource has joined OSDL as a founding member of the Labs' new Mobile Linux Initiative. PalmSource is the provider of Palm OS(R), a leading operating system powering next generation phones and mobile devices.

PalmSource announced last year that it would build its new applications framework on and port its Palm OS platform to run on Linux. As a member of OSDL and an MLI participant, PalmSource will work with other Lab members and the development community to advance the use of Linux in mobile devices. The MLI will focus industry and open source developer resources on Linux-based operating system technical challenges, foster development of applications for Linux-based mobile devices, deliver requirements definition documents and use cases, and host complementary open source projects that support the initiative.

"PalmSource believes that Linux has the potential to become a leading operating system for mobile devices, and we are committed to accelerating that process," said Michael Kelley, senior vice president of engineering for PalmSource. "By joining OSDL, and being a part of the Mobile Linux Initiative, we can work closely with Linux industry pioneers to contribute to the on-going development and adoption of mobile Linux."

With more than 190 million mobile phone units sold in the second quarter of 2005, research firm Gartner, Inc. recently reported sales were up 21 percent from a year ago and it estimates that there will be 2.6 billion mobile phones in use worldwide by the end of 2009. As the mobile market continues to explode, handset manufacturers are increasingly turning to Linux as a strategic platform to deliver more capable mobile devices, increase flexibility, speed time-to-market, and lower costs.

"We are excited that PalmSource has chosen to be a founding member of OSDL's Mobile Linux Initiative," said Stuart Cohen, OSDL CEO. "PalmSource is a welcome addition to the OSDL membership and will be a driving force for growing Linux in the mobile device market." About PalmSource, Inc.

PalmSource, Inc., the company behind Palm OS(R), a leading operating system powering smart mobile devices, is a leading developer of software for mobile phones and other mobile devices. Its products include a wide range of software for mobile phones at all price points. More than 39 million mobile phones, handhelds, and other mobile devices run PalmSource software. More than 45 companies worldwide have licenses to PalmSource software, including Fossil, Garmin, GSPDA, Kyocera, Lenovo, Palm, Samsung, Sony, and Symbol Technologies. Palm OS has given rise to a large community of users, enterprises, developers and manufacturers, who together make up the Palm Powered(TM) Economy. More information about PalmSource is available at http://www.palmsource.com, http://www.palmsource.co.uk, http://www.palmsource.fr, http://www.palmsource.de, http://www.palmsource.com/es and http://www.palmsource.com.cn. About the Open Source Development Lab

OSDL -- home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux. Founded in 2000 by CA, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel and NEC, OSDL is a non-profit organization at the center of Linux supported by a global consortium of more than 70 of the world's largest Linux customers and IT industry leaders. OSDL sponsors industry-wide initiatives around Linux in telecommunications, in the enterprise data center and on corporate desktops. The Lab also provides Linux expertise and computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/ . CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and its Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI) and our plans to build our new applications framework on and port our Palm OS(R) to platform to run on Linux. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the ability of Linux to become the leading operating system for mobile devices; our ability and the ability of OSDL members to successfully advance the use of Linux on mobile devices; our ability to successful build our new applications framework on and port our Palm OS to platform to run on Linux; realization of the anticipated growth in mobile phone sales; and other risks and uncertainties contained in our public announcements, reports to stockholders and other documents filed with and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended June 3, 2005 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 2, 2005. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. NOTE: Copyright (C) 2005, OSDL and PalmSource, Inc. OSDL is a registered trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders. PalmSource, Palm OS, Palm Powered and certain other trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks which may be registered in the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and other countries, and which are either owned by PalmSource, Inc., or its affiliates or are licensed by PalmSource, Inc., from Palm Trademark Holding Company, LLC. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.