The New York Times reports that Microsoft, Palm, and Symbian are battling each other to dominate the smartphone market. The article then goes on to review Mircosoft’s entry in the smartphone market, the Motorola MPx200, which allows you to synchronize the phone’s address book, calendar and email with Microsoft Outlook on a Windows PC. Free registration is required to view this article.

USA Today has this review of the Zodiac device from Tapwave. The device is a personal digital assistant based on the Palm operating system that’s built mainly for playing games. According to USA Today, the Zodiac has a built-in eight-megabyte graphics accelerator, and it has stereo speakers and support for headphones and external speakers that enhance music- and video-playing.

Astraware Limited and Skwork Studio announces the release of Shattered Worlds: Space Combat for Palm OS 5 and Pocket PC devices. Space Combat is the first of the Shattered Worlds trilogy from Skwork Studio centered on the war between the Inner Planet Alliance and the Outer Colonies. Space Combat is a 3D space flight game using the 3dmgpl Engine technology developed by Skwork Studio.

Pumatech announced the availability of its new Intellisync: goAnywhere software, which allows users with Web-enabled devices – a laptop PC, mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) – to remotely access Microsoft Outlook information and files that reside on their desktop computer, including email, contacts, tasks, calendars and documents.

iambic unveiled version 7.0 of their contact, schedule and communication management software, Agendus for Palm OS. New features include an expanded month view for improved calendar organization; support for multiple icon databases to allow added schedule customization; quick sort and preference options for better data control; and Mapopolis compatibility for creating driving directions right from entries in the contact list.

pointWORLD is a new program for Palm OS. It’s a world timer, which offers time, date, all key information about the countries of the world. The quiz functionality of pointWORLD offers possibilities to test the knowledge about flags, capitals, areas and population of all countries around the world.

LandWare has teamed with Wine Enthusiast Magazine to bring you the 2004 Edition of its companion for choosing, evaluating, managing and enjoying wine. The 2004 Edition of the Wine Enthusiast Guide includes wine reviews up to the March 2004 issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine and for a limited time only can be purchased electronically for only $19.95. A CD-ROM or rewritable expansion card version is also available for $24.95.

IBM announced the introduction of DB2 Everyplace 8 for the Middle East market. DB2 Everyplace comes with a free Mobile Application Builder (MAB) and new components for the Websphere Studio for developing applications for handheld devices.

It’s been a while since we’ve brought you something truly tasteless, yet scrumptious. For you Computing Unplugged readers, there’s no justifiable reason for you to get this, other than we know some of you like the tasteless. We can, marginally, make a case for Connected Photographer news since this destination talks about models and you’re being connected to them by PayPerView. OK, fine. It’s gratuitous. Do you really care?

News.com has this three-part special report on the gaming industry. The report focuses on the future of the industry and how all consumer technologies, from television to instant messaging, would be housed in a single box.