Embattled PDA maker Palm is set to release Linux-based smartphones by the end of the year.

The move comes only a year after Palm released its first Windows Mobile-based Treo smartphones and Palm will still continue to release Windows-based devices, Palm CEO Ed Colligan said at the event. It also comes only months before Apple releases its iPhone.

Palm has sold off its PalmOS, but recently purchased a perpetual license for the Palm OS5 "Garnet" operating system. Unlike previous Palm operating systems, Palm does not intend to license the new Linux-based platform to other handheld vendors, Colligan said. He avoided discussion of takeover rumours that have dogged the handheld maker.{moscomment}