StyleTap Brings Palm OS Apps to Android Discussion

[Valerie Sarnataro]

Palm Treo devotees and those longing to run some old Palm OS apps on their new Android smartphones can rejoice!StyleTap has just released a platform for Google's operating system, allowing users to take a stroll down memory lane.

Read the full content of this Article: StyleTap Brings Palm OS Apps to Android

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[Varjak]

I just don't get the pricing. A lot of people would probably get this if the price were $20 or less. I don't see many users not being able to find replacements for Palm apps without using ST. I'd be interested in using it for one Palm app in particular; but not for $50 (and that's up $10 from the previous price, isn't it)?

[Hook]

The problem is the problem Styletap has always had-- no conduits. Ultimately, the only thing that Palm OS did better than Android was syncing (and even that is changing). If you have some specialty application that was customized for Palm OS and you have to use that, maybe this is something useful. Otherwise, you'd be better off buying an old Palm from Chris Short. I may try it out of curiosity, but I'm not expecting much.

[NamelessPlayer]

Might be good if it can use the Samsung Galaxy Note's Wacom Penabled digitizer and support 480x320 mode for Palm OS apps.

But at $50? No way! I could buy a used Palm OS 5 device for that much if I wanted to.

[Adama D. Brown]

But at $50? No way! I could buy a used Palm OS 5 device for that much if I wanted to.

You could buy a used TX for that kind of money.

[NamelessPlayer]

You could buy a used TX for that kind of money.

What about a LifeDrive or a higher-end Sony CLIÉ model like the UX50 or NZ90? Maybe even a Tapwave Zodiac?

...Actually, now that I remember that the Zodiac exists, I'll try to hunt down one of those. Unfortunately, eBay yields no results right now.

[hal]

I think the whole point here is migration under a soft curve. But of course, if somebody is not getting the picture, it's the developers of StyleTap themselves. Seriously, no conduits? Today? Palm OS had limitations of its own, and other platforms have excelled where Palm OS didn't. That said, in a fast review of the mobile platforms from a decade ago to the present, I am yet to find one that handles syncing better than Palm OS. I mean, even Nokia purchased IntelliSync from Puma Tech, that originally was a hotsync manager option for Palm OS, cause they couldn't figure it out by themselves.

However, Hook is right asserting that even hotsync is changing in the Palm OS vs Android comparison. Essentially, hotsync is morphing, from mobile <--> desktop only, to involve the cloud, in different configurations. And we can expect many more reapplications of reshaped hotsync in the days to come. Again, an emulator without conduits is a caged monkey, with no significant usage in the real world. Even Palm OS itself, in its own days, had a good share of caged monkey approach, such as those applications that didn't offer an option to reuse the data in yet another platform such as a PC, but that eventually changed. If I were to get an Android device, I'd certainly appreciate a Palm OS emulator, and reinstall the many apps that I use in a daily basis, but i.e. I wouldn't get a real benefit of using SplashMoney in the mobile device if it's not syncing to my desktop installation.

I'm starting to think that the absence of conduits has something to do with patents. The StyleTap people may be stuck trying to un-padlock something regarding industrial/intellectual property.

[Tom LaPrise]

I installed the trial and played with it a bit last night--copied the /Palm/Launcher and /Palm/Programs folders from an old Zodiac SD backup to my phone's MicroSD. iSilo found all of its files (and accepted my registration code--apparently doesn't depend on HotSync name). Honestly, I don't think I had any Palm apps that could possibly justify paying $50 for StyleTap. $10, maybe. I'd sooner resurrect my Zodiac or use my Centro.

[jigwashere]

Only $50 to be able to play Dice121 on my E4GT? I"m in!!

[hal]

In the scenario in which I already had an Android device, I would pay $50... WITH CONDUITS. And I would pay for it cause it would allow me to use my Palm OS apps and data in a newer and faster device, actually taking the Palm OS experience to a software abstraction, where hardware is likely to be chosen and upgraded.

All of this makes me think whether the people that developed MotionApps Classic would be interested in porting their work from WebOS to Android. Just a thought.