November 20^th, 2003 (12:00am) - PalmSource Inc., provider of the world’s most popular operating system for handhelds and smartphones, today announced that privately held Tapwave Inc. has licensed Palm OS. At launch festivities last night in San Francisco, Tapwave unveiled its plans to deliver a new category of Palm Powered mobile entertainment gear aimed at technology enthusiasts who want to manage their lifestyles and play, while on the go.

“We chose Palm OS because it is the best platform on which to develop innovative, differentiated devices, it has the most game applications, and a fantastic community of developers,” said Peng Lim, founder and chief executive officer for Tapwave Inc. “We look forward to building a long and prosperous relationship with PalmSource and to delivering new kinds of Palm Powered products that will take the Palm Economy to a whole different level.”

According to a November 2002 study from IDC, titled, “Are We Having Fun Yet?: U.S. Wireless Gaming Forecast, 2002-2007,” the number of mobile gamers in the United States will jump from 7 million in 2002 to 71.2 million in 2007. IDC also expects U.S. mobile gaming revenue to jump from $130 million in 2002 to $4 billion in 2007.

“Tapwave is focusing on a market with huge growth potential and taking the Palm OS platform into a new domain that we are really excited about,” said David Nagel, president and CEO of PalmSource, Inc. “This is an extremely talented group of people, who have shown that they know how to create a great, new kind of device. We are looking forward to working with Tapwave to bring new ideas to market that will delight and astonish users.”

The Palm OS is known for its easy-to-use interface, flexibility and power. As the foundation for more than 28 million mobile devices, the Palm OS platform is designed with an open, modular architecture that allows licensees and developers to create innovative new products in a variety of sizes and form factors and applications for both personal and enterprise use.

Tapwave’s product, which will allow users to go, do and play, is expected to be available in late 2003.