Ed Colligan talks PalmOS, Pre, porcupines

The Palm Pre may not be in users' hands yet, but the demand for information doesn't seem to let up. Ever. At a Palm event today, CEO Ed Colligan threw the crowd a few bones... and threw the bones crowd some good news.

PreCentral's lively bloggers captured the excitement the blow-by-blow. There were a few confirmations of things we've already heard -- for instance, Palm apps will be available both through an official, curated store and via third-party developers. Colligan also elaborated on plans to bring the phone to other carriers and other countries (yes, all of the above are planned; the US could see the Pre available from other carriers in 2010).

Other information's fresher fare. Colligan confirmed what many had suspected: The venerable PalmOS is, yes, moribund, with Palm focusing on WebOS and Windows Mobile releases. The last planned activity on that front is the release of the Centro to additional carriers. Meanwhile, Colligan stressed that there are a few applications that Palm considers very nearly necessary for a successful Pre launch. The one he cited by name may not ring a bell with you, but medical professionals will be thrilled to hear that Epocrates, that indispensable suite for clinic practitioners, is on tap.

Colligan was even fairly sanguine about the recent snarling between patent lawyers at Apple and Palm, noting that snarling is often precisely what, and all of what, such creatures do. "The reason you do that is to have a defensive position," he said. "It's like two little porcupines going around, and you don't want to touch each other because you might get stung. You peacefully coexist and everything's OK and you keep working together."