Palm OS HotSync Conduit Dropped in 10.6

AppleInsider:

Apple has discontinued support for legacy Palm OS devices in Mac OS X Snow Leopard’s iSync 3.1.0, according to sources familiar with the latest Gold Master build, requiring users of Palm OS devices to obtain third party support for syncing their Palm Desktop information with Mac OS X’s Sync Services.

Of course, this conduit wasn’t built by Palm — Apple built it into iSync starting back in 10.4 in an attempt to make the Mac more approachable to the business world that — then, at least — ran on the Palm OS to a very large degree.

Today, there are fewer and fewer Palm OS devices out there, and more and more smart phones that can sync with the Mac via software written by the phone’s manufacturer (such as RIM’s “BlackBerry for Mac” software) or software like The Missing Sync, which looks like the only option available for users of both the Palm OS and Snow Leopard.

The biggest elephant in the room — the iPhone — of course syncs via iTunes, cutting out the middle man entirely.

I see this as pretty much the final nail in iSync’s coffin. The list of supported devices under Leopard iSync includes some pretty old and obscure phones, whose user base is declining. I suspect 10.7 won’t include iSync at all.