Wynd Communications (a GoAmerica, Inc. company) introduced the WyndPower pack, a standalone collection of wireless services, tailored for wireless users who are deaf or hard of hearing. These services, included for free or at a discount to WyndTell and Deafwireless users, can now be added to other wireless services for a monthly fee for unlimited use. The WyndPower pack will initially be available to users of the T-Mobile Sidekick, Motorola P935, the AOL Communicator, and RIM devices on selected wireless networks.

Bachmann Software announced that its PrintBoy mobile printing software will be included with the new Palm Tungsten C handheld from Palm, Inc. This is the first Palm branded handheld to offer PrintBoy on the in-box Software Essentials CD. PrintBoy, Standard Edition will allow users to print DataViz’s Documents To Go documents, spreadsheets, and presentations as well as information from the standard Palm OS applications such as Memo, Date Book, To Do List, and Address Book.

The worldwide market for handheld devices declined in the first quarter of 2003 due to sluggish demand from businesses and consumers alike, according to IDC’s Worldwide Handheld QView. Worldwide handheld device shipments fell by 21.3% year-on-year in 1Q03 and dropped sequentially by 26.5% to 2.45 million units. Palm maintained its top position in the market while Hewlett-Packard regained the number 2 position from Sony.

QView highlights include: Palm, on the strength of new devices, including its $99 Zire, maintained its leadership status and shipped nearly double the units of its closest competitor; Hewlett Packard regained the number two spot due in large part to sales of its $299 H1910; Dell tripled its volume sequentially and vaulted into the top five with the success of its $199 and $299 Axim X5; Handspring continued its strategy shift to converged devices, dropping to the number seven spot overall with 2.9% market share; The dynamics of the Asia/Pacific handheld market continue to evolve with Legend, Minren, and Hi-Tech Wealth dropping out of the top 10 list of leading vendors during the quarter, and GSL joining the top 10.

Sprint announced the nationwide availability of PCS Voice Command Business Directory (VCBD) service. As an enhancement to PCS Voice Command and an advanced voice service of the PCS Clear Wireless Workplace, this new network-based service is designed to enable companies to provide employees voice access to business contacts and departments within their organization. In order for a company to allow an employee access to the Voice Command business directory of their organization, that employee must already have the standard PCS Voice Command option on their account.

The television show “American Idol” received its one-millionth vote via text messaging. Mobliss, a wireless media company, is the exclusive technology provider of text voting and on-air polling for AT&T Wireless’ “American Idol.” At one point, nearly one thousand text messages per second have been received during the two-hour voting period after each show, the highest peak text messaging traffic the U.S. has seen to date.

Palm, Inc. Solutions Group said it has accomplished a sevenfold breakthrough in memory for Palm Powered handheld computers. Palm Solutions and PalmSource engineers collaborated to develop memory technology that extends the amount of random-access memory (RAM) possible on a Palm OS handheld from the current 16MB to 128MB. This means you should be ableo to carry more images, video, music, applications, and Microsoft Office documents on future Palm handhelds. Business-grade solutions such as email and Web services will be enhanced.

Mapopolis.Com announced the immediate availability of the Mapopolis GPS for Handspring Treo handhelds. The unit comes with a special version of Mapopolis for Handspring Treo handhelds.

Notify Technology Corporation introduced NotifyLink for the Treo communicator product line by Handspring. NotifyLink is a complete mobile email solution for GroupWise and NetMail users.

Results of the 2003 My AvantGo Service Survey are in, revealing PDA preferences of mobile device users worldwide. The survey highlights PDA trends and service offerings that individuals use today as well as those they would like to see in the future. The survey was based on responses from nearly 2,000 My AvantGo users over a two-week period and delivered on mobile devices via the My AvantGo service. Since the first PalmPilot shipped in 1996, more than half of survey respondents had purchased two or more PDAs for themselves. While the majority own PDAs and cell phones, only 6% of them own a combined PDA and cell phone, with 28% planning one for the next purchase.

Sega.com Inc. and Palm, Inc. announced the launch of SEGA classic games for select ARM processor-based Palm handhelds. The first titles to launch include Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik