Palm will reportedly use the first day of CES to unveil a handset based on the long-awaited Nova operating system. The phone is seen as Palm’s best chance to recover from a disastrous 2008.
Citing a “trusted source,” CrunchGear says the handset to be released Thursday is described as “iPhone-like” with a potrait display and a slide-down QWERTY keyboard.
In December, Palm executive chairman Jon Rubinstein told BusinessWeek the device would bridge the gap between the BlackBerry and iPhone. Rubinstein, credited with helping develop the iMac and iPod, joined Palm in 2007 when private equity firm Elevation Partners provided $325 million for a stake in the company. Last month, Elevation gave Palm another $100 million.
The smartphone may be manufactured by HTC, the same Taiwan-based firm that makes the Treo Pro and T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone.
The CES, held in Las Vegas, kicks off Thursday, Jan.8.
