Although we don't normally comment on vapourware, there are many old Palm OS fans who feel they can't move over to a modern smartphone because they have one or more specific Palm applications they can't live without. Enter StyleTap's CrossPlatform product - they're promising it'll see a full release on S60 and UIQ in early 2008.

See also Matt Miller's thoughts on Mobile Gadgeteer. 

Press release: 

StyleTap® CrossPlatform Brings Thousands of Mobile Applications to Symbian Smartphones

TORONTO, Canada, October 16, 2007 – StyleTap Inc. today announced StyleTap CrossPlatform for Symbian OS™ which will allow over 20,000 existing applications to run on current and future Symbian smartphones.

StyleTap CrossPlatform for Symbian OS brings the largest library of smartphone applications to the largest community of smartphone users, with over 145m Symbian smartphones shipped to date, to over 250 major network operators worldwide.

StyleTap CrossPlatform is compatible with most applications written for Palm OS® devices, and enables them to now run on Symbian smartphones. This gives consumers unprecedented freedom to choose the smartphone that meets their needs without losing their investment in mobile applications and accumulated data.

StyleTap CrossPlatform also gives application developers a compelling solution which can help leverage their existing mobile assets to target more devices. Instead of their applications running on a set proportion of mobile devices because they cannot afford to re-engineer their applications for each new device brought to market, StyleTap CrossPlatform offers developers access to millions more potential customers with no re-engineering required.

"By enabling thousands more mobile applications to be used by millions more users, StyleTap CrossPlatform creates enormous value for consumers, application developers and smartphone vendors," said Gregory Sokoloff, CEO of StyleTap Inc., "By bringing StyleTap CrossPlatform to Symbian OS, the global market-leading smartphone OS, we are fulfilling our commitment to support the smartphone industry to the fullest possible extent."

StyleTap CrossPlatform for Symbian OS is the newest member of the StyleTap CrossPlatform family of products which will continue to grow to include additional smartphone operating systems. StyleTap is demonstrating CrossPlatform at the Symbian Smartphone Show in London, and expects to ship the product in the first quarter of 2008. Pricing has not yet been finalized. StyleTap CrossPlatform will support Symbian smartphones based on UIQ 3 and S60 3rd Edition. Companies or individuals interested in receiving information about the release of StyleTap CrossPlatform for Symbian should visit www.styletap.com and subscribe to the StyleTap blog.

"Symbian OS has established itself as the leading OS for smartphones in the world today," said David Wood, EVP of Research, Symbian Ltd., "As smartphones play an ever increasing role in people's lives, application software will grow more and more important. We welcome the rich library of applications that StyleTap brings to the Symbian ecosystem and encourage their developers to take advantage of the Symbian marketplace."

"StyleTap CrossPlatform will bring great value to users of mobile phones based on UIQ. They will now be able to access an extensive set of new applications for their UIQ phones from Sony Ericsson and Motorola. We are very pleased to see this innovation come to market", said Elisabet Melin, VP Marketing, UIQ Technology AB.