There's also the issue of multitasking to consider as well. While the real-time embedded AMX kernel that Palm Computing licensed from KADAK can multitask, the Palm OS itself does not have this capability. As stated in Palm's Developer FAQ:

Palm OS is built on top of a small kernel that Palm Computing licensed from Kadak. The terms and conditions of that license specifically state that Palm may not expose the API for creating/manipulating tasks within the OS. If you need access to these calls you need to contact Kadak at (604) 734-2796.

The Palm OS ROM is built with support for a very few tasks. There are only enough task slots for the ROM's needs. In order to support more tasks, the ROM would need to be rebuilt.

Windows CE, on the other hand, is designed to run multiple programs and tasks simultaneously. Whether or not this is useful on a Palm-sized device like the Nino is debatable, but certainly on larger form factor devices, where you might have a Web browser open in one window and a word processor open in another, it's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say. Multitasking is also beneficial during synchronization (Windows CE devices synchronize all the time when plugged into their docking cradles). It's also a good fit for wireless applications, where email and web pages might be downloaded over the airwaves in the background when the user is doing something else, such as reading email or searching through a contacts database. Multitasking is important to wireless field data collection applications as well, where a handheld device could upload stored information to a remote database while the user is keying in information, such as for stock-keeping and medical diagnostics type programs. Because of its robustness in this area, Windows CE is the preferred platform for this type of application.

Let's not forget about multimedia either. Windows CE can produce color graphics in high resolutions, and some of the newer units, like Compaq's Aero, can play MPEG animations and digitized stereo music. By comparison, the Palm OS is lucky if it can display 2 shades of black-and-white and reproduce an audible beep on a tiny peizoelectic speaker.

The Palm organizer is the better organizer
All of this may sound like we're giving the Palm OS short shrift. In reality, as a personal organizer, Palm OS is the real winner here. Who has actually tried to use Pocket Outlook on a Palm-sized PC, with its array of buttons, controls and drop-down lists, in place of the simple built-in contact list? Or have actually tried to take notes with Note Taker? Those who have tried can probably tell you how difficult it really is, because the Windows interface doesn't translate well to small screens. With all of CE's API's, its monster memory pool, hardware expandability, color graphics, voice recognition and gee-whiz sound, it's the Palm OS's simplicity that makes it such a successful organizer.

What the future holds
It all has to do with trade-offs. Windows CE is certainly the more "real" operating system, but because it's so complicated, it trades off application performance and ease of use for rich API's, vast amounts of addressable memory, expandability and the ability to run on different hardware platforms. The little Palm OS is extremely optimized for running small, efficient personal productivity programs, but it has almost no expandability except through cleverly engineered software and hardware hacks, and the OS is too simplistic to handle running monolithic applications.