SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PalmSource, Inc.,
today announced that it has received a $20 million minority equity investment by Sony Corporation that will result in its ownership of about six percent share of PalmSource. This investment, combined with expanded business and technical collaboration agreements enhances both companies' strategic commitment to grow the Palm Economy.

PalmSource, provider of the world's leading operating system for handhelds and smart phones, is a subsidiary of Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM). Sony has been a Palm OS licensee since 1999, and with the introduction of its CLIE personal entertainment organizer product line, has brought to market some of the most innovative and successful Palm Powered products.

The CLIE entertainment handheld with the Palm OS platform is a key product for the broadband era, through which users can enjoy a wide variety of content and services easily, anywhere, anytime.  Our ongoing cooperative relationship with PalmSource will also advance the evolution of the Palm Economy, said Keiji Kimura, Corporate Senior Vice President of Sony Corporation and NC President of Sony Corporation Mobile Network Company.

Sony's products stand for innovation and high quality worldwide, said David Nagel, president and chief executive officer of PalmSource, Inc. We are delighted that Sony has chosen Palm OS as the platform for its handheld computing products and look forward to continued innovation and leadership resulting from this relationship.

Sony's investment in PalmSource is a further step toward establishing PalmSource as an independent company. (See complementary, simultaneous news release issued by Palm, Inc. this morning.)

PalmSource, Inc. Company Background

PalmSource is the company behind the Palm OS®, the world's most successful operating system for handheld computers and smart phones. Licensed by industry leaders -- including Acer, AlphaSmart, Handspring, Garmin, Kyocera, Palm, Samsung, Sony and Symbol -- the Palm OS has been shipped in more than 24 million handhelds and smart phones, and given rise to a huge community of users, enterprises, developers and manufacturers, who together make up the Palm Economy. PalmSource's new headquarters are located at

1240 Crossman Street in Sunnyvale, CA. PalmSource is a subsidiary of Palm, Inc. (PALM).

More information about PalmSource, Inc., the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc., is available at http://www.palmsource.com>  Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm>