Now that Palm is repackaging itself as a software and operating system company, it is following the leaders by charging for its OS upgrades.
A few weeks ago, Palm made Palm OS 3.5 available to users as an upgrade for $15—the first time a new Palm OS wasnt a freebie. Most Palm-based handheld computers are built around software-upgradable flash ROM, and Palm had always offered users no-cost upgrades to the operating system and core applications. Version 3.5 has been shipping in new devices for nearly a year.
Users of the Palm-based TRGpro can dodge the $15 bullet because TRG Products offers free upgrades to Version 3.5—and has for several months.