While a range of new technologies have appeared that offer better Web browsing capabilities on mobile devices, most experts agree that the software remains too limited and unpredictable for business use. While there’s obvious utility in accessing the Internet via a handheld device, Web content remains ill-suited for most handsets, network coverage can be spotty and keyboard controls are frustrating.

SanDisk announced the opening of SanDisk India Device Design Center Pvt. Ltd. in the country’s technology hub of Bangalore, where engineers will work on the core elements of the company’s flash memory products. The announcement was made at a press conference in Bangalore that was attended by Sanjay Mehrotra, SanDisk chief operating officer, and other company officials. The SanDisk India Design Center will initially concentrate on projects involving NAND memory–the heart of SanDisk’s flash memory cards, USB drives and MP3 players. Later, the team will be expanded to include development work on ASIC controllers, which are the gatekeepers for data in flash memory cells.

Thousands of educators will get their first look at the new Windows Mobile-based Palm Treo 700w smartphone and new wireless, curriculum and administrative solutions at the Texas Education Computer Association’s annual conference Wednesday through Friday at the Austin Convention Center. TCEA attracts principals, superintendents, teachers, and technology and curriculum specialists from Texas and across the nation. The Treo 700w will take center stage in Palm’s booth, while other Palm Solution Providers show solutions ranging from new printing software for the Treo 700w from Bachmann Software to the latest formative reading assessment tools from Wireless Generation.

Palm announced that SureXpress, a parcel-delivery service company, has deployed 100 Treo smartphones with Socket Communications’ SD Scan Card running P.O.D Verify’s Proof of Delivery software to scan barcodes and capture signatures. SureXpress’ deployment of the Treo solution accelerates its delivery process, cuts billing and collection times to one day from 14 to 21 days, reduces errors, and enables a more real-time environment for customers to track their packages.

OK, how twisted is this?

According to Wikipedia, “Planned obsolescence is the conscious decision on the part of an agency to produce a consumer product that will become obsolete and/or non-functional in a defined time frame.” In theory, planned obsolescence is bad, because the devices we paid a lot for are no longer functional. But, especially in the world of mobile technology, sometimes the devices we use work for a lot longer than might be practical. That’s the subject of this article. In it, we ask the tough question: should you replace a perfectly good laptop?

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

A major investor in Palm called on the company to seek a buyer among the large IT companies of the world, arguing that competitive pressures will lead to tough times for the Treo seller. Mark Nelson, the founder and former CEO of Ovid Technologies, owns 8 percent of Palm’s stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a letter to Palm’s board of directors, Nelson urged Palm to consider selling its business to a company like Research in Motion, Dell, or Hewlett-Packard while its fortunes are still on the rise. Palm is in the midst of breaking away from the PDAs (personal digital assistants) that launched it to prominence in the 1990s. With sales of those devices plummeting, Palm and the rest of the PDA industry has embraced smartphones that combine the contacts, calendars and applications of a PDA with the ability to make voice calls and access data over the Internet. Palm’s Treo devices have attracted a significant following within the U.S.

Western Digital announced that its WD Passport Portable USB Drives are now available with 120 GB capacity. WD Passport Portable USB Drives were recently named one of the “Ten Coolest Products” by USA Today Now: Personal Technology magazine. With no need for a separate power supply, WD Passport Portable USB Drives are easy to use anywhere–simply plug in and store. WD Passport Portable USB Drives are outfitted with high-performance, low power-consuming, cool and quiet-running WD Scorpio 2.5-inch EIDE hard drives, as well as Data Lifeguard protection, to provide maximum safeguard from data loss. The drives are offered in capacities of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 GB. Also available is an optional WD Passport carrying case for conveniently and stylishly transporting the portable hard drives.

LingvoSoft Suites 2006 will turn your Windows Mobile device into a powerful translating tool and language-learning resource. This set of software includes a speech-enabled, bidirectional translating dictionary with extensive 400,000 word vocabulary, a talking phrasebook of 14,000 travel-related phrases organized by common situational topics you may encounter while abroad, and the FlashCards language-learning application to help you memorize new vocabulary while you play.

Research In Motion announced it is extending its relationship with Sony Ericsson to bring BlackBerry connectivity to the new Sony Ericsson P990 and M600 phones. The P990 and M600 are based on the enhanced Symbian OS version 9.1 platform. The Sony Ericsson P990 and M600 with BlackBerry Connect will allow customers to enjoy the feature-rich capabilities of each phone with RIM’s popular BlackBerry services. Supported BlackBerry features include push-based wireless email access, wireless email reconciliation and attachment viewing through BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service.