When I prepared to look into the new smart phones I kept thinking these operating systems are like the brains of the phone. Like the old adage, I wondered if it is a no-brainer. Would I know which smart phone to use? Or would I favor a particular operating system? What I've learned is that the technology on the OS side is advancing faster than the available devices in the marketplace.

While Blackberry has long been loved for its email capabilities it has been slow to gain wide acceptance in the cell phone market. Maybe in time Palm OS and Blackberry will be neck in neck like on the horse races, but for now their racing along at different paces.

What is Palm OS like with the Treo Phones?

Palm OS offers high performance, flexibility and ease of use. Back in 2003, I got familiar with the Palm One on my Treo 600. I liked it. It worked great. The phone offered stiff competition with Blackberry and it still does.

How is the new Treo 650 ?

This smart phone is even hotter than the older version. It has a faster processer, Bluetooth, and the screen is better with a higher resolution. Plus, the removal battery is real handy.

However, the Treo 650 isn't available with CDMA 2000 1xEV-DO version. If you want fast data downloading use Cingular Wireless or the 1xrtt Sprint PCS version. Earlier this year 2005, Cingular wireless launched a high speed data service called 2.7 generation Edge service. You will certainly appreciate fast data transfer!

How is "Cobalt" the "new" OS?

What is Cobalt 6.1 Version? It is a brand new operating system, built from scratch that allows hand held devices, and smartphones to have the legendary " ease of use ". The Palm OS Cobalt 6.1 has an improved telephony function as well as automatic database backup and restore support. The minimum memory required for a pda is 32MB SDRAM + 16MB NOR ROM and 32mb sdram + 32MB NAND Flash.

Personal Information Management (PIM)

Some of the exciting applications you can expect with the Cobalt 6.1 is a 5- way one handed navigation to access your:address book, to do list, date book, memo pad. You will also have access to a: phone pad to input messages into, calculator, card info, and GPRS counters.

For music audiophiles, you will be able to listen to your mp3 songs when you install the new PalmOne Cobalt 6.1 version onto your Palm One Hand held device. It's been practically a year since this system was announced. Yet, it's not in any smart phones. Palm Source forecasts that devices will be available in the summer time.

Palm Source will have future versions of the OS in the market, but the OS code is not going to open source. This UNIX-based solution will make it easier for Palm to widen the arena of software developers, which over time with cause the operating system to become more stable. The new "Cobalt" is impressive. Why? The new operating system will allow the Palm One Treo to have multitreading architecture and the ability to multitask.

What are the prices like for the Palm OS Treos?

The average price for a Treo 650 is $449. However, the prices go down considerably when a new smart phone comes to market. When Cingular began offering Treo 650 they reduced the price of their Treo 600 to $249.

Blackberry Connect E-Mail Client can be installed onto a Palm OS

PalmSource and Research in Motion has made an agreement that allows the Blackberry Connect email client to run on PalmOne smartphones. In addition, PalmOne has the license to add Microsoft's activeSync software on future treo smartphones. What will all this mean for the average Treo Smartphone user? It will enable sofware developers to create a more seucre email platform for Treo devices. As well, it will enable safer mobile data transport & other applications.

What is the new Blackberry like?

If you want access to push based email this smart phone rocks. Its fans have long loved Blackberry because you don't have to use PC-based tools like Redirector software in order to get your email from your office forwarded to your Blackberry.

But Blackberry is not the leader in the cell phone market. The newest Blackberry 7100 from RIM has new features in the hopes of appealing to a wider customer base. This version looks more like a phone instead of a sophisticated calculator. It includes a suretype keyboard that doubles up some keys with two letters. The software interprets the keystrokes. This can be a bit slow if you're used to typing emails quickly.

What does the Blackberry cost?

The Blackberry 7100 retails between $200-$249. A newer version 7270 will be on the market later this year, which suppports data and voice over IP 802.11 networks.