Palm OS 4 and OS 5 side-by-side
| Features | Palm OS 4 | Palm OS 5 |
| Processor support | As a 16-bit OS, it supports the Motorola 68000 series chips. Currently, all Palm devices are powered by a Dragonball processor. | Will support ARM-based processors from companies like Motorola, Intel, and Texas Instruments. This means that processing power of 32-bit OS 5 handhelds can run up to 10 times faster than current devices. |
| Program execution | In OS 4, you can only run one task or program at a time. For example, when you switch from Date Book to Memo Pad, the OS closes one app and starts the other. | OS 5 supports multithreading. This means multiple tasks can be running at the same time. |
| Backward compatibility | Software for older versions, if written properly, will be able to run on OS 4 devices. | To protect investment in older software, OS 5 supports the Application Programming Interface (API) of OS 4. So the new OS will be able to run software that is fully compliant with OS 4. |
| Hacks | Hacks are software designed by third-party developers to add new features to the operating system. Hacks work on OS 4 but rely on unsupported programming interfaces. | Current hacks, in general, will not be supported in OS 5. However, there may be other ways to create hacks for the new OS. |
| Security | Basic security available include locking the device and hiding records. However, there's no support for stronger 128-bit encryption except through third-party solutions. | OS 5 will have robust security options and offer a system-wide 128-bit encryption, including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) services for secure Internet transactions, as a standard feature. A new authorization and authentication manager also allows various methods of restricting access and identification via biometric verfication (voice, fingerprints or handwriting) and smart cards. |
| Wireless support | OS 4 has drivers and APIs that support wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, GSM, CDMA, and 2.5G/3G networks. | OS 5 extends the native support to include 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless networks. |
| Graphics user interface (GUI) | Screen resolution of 160 x 160 pixels is standard for OS 4. Sony, however, was able to tweak the OS such that it supports 320 x 320 pixels on the CLIEs. User interface is consistant with previous versions of the Palm OS. | High-resolution 320 x 320-pixel screens are supported. Enhancements to fonts, icons, graphics and other user interface elements will be made to take advantage of this feature. The OS is also now "theme-able" and different color themes are included. |
| Multimedia | Weak support for audio and video files. | Video and audio capabilities improved with a new set of APIs that developers can harness to deliver multimedia apps and solutions. |
| Web browsing | No built-in Web browser. However, third-party solutions are available. | PalmSource will provide a new, standards-compliant browser for OS 5. |
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can't wait for OS six