SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Smart phone maker Palm Inc. said Tuesday it will use a new platform based on Linux to help the company compete better.

Palm officials announced the new operating system platform during a meeting with analysts in New York, where they also discussed the company’s business strategy and refused to talk about recent rumors of a possible buyout.

Palm has long used its cornerstone Palm operating system and last year broadened its customer base by debuting Treo smart phones based on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile system.

The upcoming Linux-based platform, which Palm had been developing quietly for several years, will join the product mix as ‘’a new foundation,'’ Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said.

He said the platform will take the Palm software and ‘’modernize'’ it.

[Source]