Tapwave makes Palm-based games PDA
Published: 06 May 2003 11:04 BST
Palm on Tuesday will officially sign up gaming start-up Tapwave as a licensee of its handheld operating system
Tapwave will be putting the operating system to use in a device, code-named Helix, that's due in the fourth quarter. The system will synchronise with a PC and have organiser functions, but it is primarily meant to be a portable gaming device.
"Our device is designed as mobile entertainment gear for those who have outgrown the Game Boy experience," said Bryon Connell, Tapwave co-founder and senior vice president of marketing.
Sources expect another company to be announced as a licensee this week.
Palm representatives declined to comment.
Palm, which is the market share leader for both handheld devices and their operating systems, is hosting its PalmSource developer conference in California, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Current licensees, including phone manufacturers Samsung and Kyocera and watchmaker Fossil, are expected to attend the conference. David Nagel, chief executive of the company's PalmSource software subsidiary, is slated to present a sneak peek at the next generation of the Palm OS, version six.
Helix, which will come with version 5.2 of the Palm OS, will have a built-in joystick and a colour screen with a resolution of 320 by 480 pixels. It will also have built-in Bluetooth wireless support to allow people to participate in multiplayer games.
The device's price will compare to those in the gaming consoles range, around $300 (£186), Connell said. He and chief executive officer Peng Lim founded the company in 2001 after stints with Palm, and are joined by several other former Palm executives.
While the company is targeting people from those in their late teens to those in their early 30s, Connell expects 20-somethings to be at the heart of its target audience.
Tapwave will work with developers to create games for the Tapwave device.
CNET News.com Staff Writer Ian Fried contributed to this report.
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