Speaking to analysts and press on a recent conference call, Palm CEO Ed Colligan came forward and said its next-generation operating system -- promised for late 2007 -- won't be ready until late 2008. This is a bad set back.The news couldn't be worse, really. Palm's Garnet OS was long in the software tooth a couple of years ago. Palm has long been promising a new version of its OS based on Linux. One that would be the next-generation platform for smartphones. It already has been delayed several times, most recently until late 2008. I'm beginning to think that what they mean by "next generation" is that it won't be ready until the next generation of mobile users is ready some 20 years from now.

Remember the Linux-based Foleo, canned a few weeks ago? Palm has moved all of the Foleo's software team over to the new OS to help prepare it more quickly. Even so, Colligan had the audacity to say that progress on the new platform was "as well as possibly could be expected."

Sorry, Colligan, but we expected a lot more. We expected the new OS earlier this year. I'd say late 2008 is well below expectations.

Despite this set back, Colligan appears to be upbeat on the future of the OS, noting that there is more internal excitement about it now that it's being used on prototype devices.

Too bad we'll have to twitter away another 15 months to see if it has been worth the long and constantly increasing wait.