CES 2009 is just around the corner and consumer electronics companies are scrambling to get their new kit ready for the largest show of its type in the world. Palm is no stranger to CES, but in recent years the legendary company which brought us the consumer-friendly Palm Pilot and sucked up HandSpring to get the popular Treo and morph it into the first truly popular smartphone has been steadily sliding towards oblivion. According to Palm, this is about to change.

Palm has announced an invitation-only press event to be held at CES 2009 to unveil something new. I didn’t receive an invite, but I don’t feel bad, despite being a HUGE fan of Palm since Day 1 (I have a working Palm Pilot 500). I have a feeling in my gut that Palm might be on the verge of a real, viable, tangible comeback. I’m not the only one, either. Engadget got an invite, as did PalmInfoCenter.

While nothing specific is known about what Palm will be doing behind closed doors, my own personal speculation and the educated speculation from PIC strongly indicate that they will be introducing a radically updated version of their OS. I’m going to put my two cents in and state that I believe that they will also show either a working prototype or a near-term pre-release version of brand new hardware to support the new platform.

As is always the case, we just have to wait and see. I will say, however, (and this is directly at Palm) you’ve disappointed me in the past. Please, please, please, don’t do it again.

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