This is fantastic news for Palm OS Treo fans (like myself) for many reasons: it means that the line is far from dead, it means that we won’t be forced any time soon to switch to the Windows Mobile-based Treos, and it means that Palm won’t have to rely on other companies for the innovation and ease of use its products are known for.

Palm has a perpetual license to use elements of the ACCESS Palm OS, meaning the new OS should probably be compatible with most legacy software, good news for users and developers alike. And because the new OS is Linux-based, the open source community’s muscle will be behind the initiative as well. In all, it’s a perfect move for Palm, as many think divorcing the hardware and software business units was a nail in the coffin.

Still no word on the buy-out rumors, but if this new news, in conjunction with Ed Colligan’s remarks that new devices running the new Palm OS would hit the market “very soon” doesn’t make Palm more attractive than ever, we’re not sure what would.

Palm Announces New Linux Based Mobile Platform [Palm InfoCenter]