PalmSource, the software spin-off of Palm Inc., has shipped the next major release of its operating system to licensees. According to an announcement made by the company, Palm OS 6 is poised to meet the emerging requirements anticipated for next generation wireless and telephony devices.

To offer licensees more comprehensive solutions, Palm OS 6 combines its baseline operating system interface with the ability to multitask, enhanced multimedia, better security, memory protection, and a modular design framework. This release, formerly code-named Sahara, marks the first significant overhaul since Palm OS 5 shipped in June, 2002.

More technical information will be delivered during the February PalmSource developer conference in San Jose, California. Attendees will be provided with the latest code.

"Palm OS 6 is a major milestone for PalmSource, and we are happy to deliver the final version on schedule," said Larry Slotnick, chief products officer at PalmSource. "We believe that our team has developed a tremendous product for our licensees to bring innovative Palm Powered mobile products into new markets."

Palm OS enjoys a lead in the US retail market, and remains competitive in Europe despite competition with Microsoft's Pocket PC and other vendors. Over 30 million devices are estimated to be powered by Palm OS.