ACCESS, the Japan-based company that now owns Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS), has announced a new version of its Garnet VM emulator for Nokia NSeries.

Access website says release version 1.03b of Garnet VM Beta 4, released on May 29, 2009, has improved stability.

Last December, I wanted to buy a Canon or Sony digital camera in Singapore before going back home from a training for my new job. But when I saw an ad for a slightly used, white Palm Centro on eBay, my plan changed. I managed to get the Centro for only 300 SGD (around P9,000). At that time, a brand-new Centro was being sold for around 400 to 500 SGD.

I immediately transferred the data from my battered Treo 650 to my new phone. As was always the case with Palm OS devices, the data transfer was completed without causing me a headache. With the Centro, it was still like having my old Treo 650, only with a lighter pocket and more space to install new apps. I missed Treo’s keyboard, though.

01/09 Update: As expected, Palm launched today its new OS — the Palm Web OS — and Palm Pre, the first smartphone running on the new platform. The twin launch has been receiving great reviews. I’m sure you’ve read about it already, but just in case you haven’t, visit the official Palm blog for more details. Congrats, Palm!

It’s almost midnight here in Manila, Philippines, and by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, the World Wide Web would probably be full of reports and comments on the new operating system that Palm is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Earlier reports from CrunchGear and other blogs say a new “iPhone-like” device running on the new OS called Nova will also be announced at the event. “The new phone will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen,” the report says, adding that it could also play media and would of course have Palm’s calendar, email, and contact function.

I love my Palm Centro –  I got one while I training in Singapore for my new job with Yahoo! Philippines — but I wish it had WiFi capability and a better camera. It looks like “Palm’s newness” would satisfy such desires.

Mobileburn says the Palm Nova phone could also feature a high-resolution camera, which, along with Wi-Fi, is on the top of my wishlist for new features.  Hopefully, the new Palm phone would also be able to run old Palm programs and databases.

I’m one of those loyal Palm fans who would really be happy to see it on the top again with its long-overdue OS upgrade. I believe Matthew Miller of ZDNet is correct in saying there are “a ton of people that want to see Palm succeed.”

Palm is, after all, the brand that brought us the wonderful little handheld computer called PalmPilot, which eventually evolved into what I call an all-in-one device: a cellphone, personal digital assistant, alarm clock, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and ‘game and watch’ rolled into one. And with the new OS, I hope Palm would resurrect Foleo.

With tomorrow’s announcement, I hope Palm could prove that it is, as I’d been insisting, “not a dying platform.” It’s Palm’s time to shine again.