Handspring, Inc. announced the availability of a software upgrade for the Treo 90 handheld organizer that provides compatibility with Secure Digital Input/Output (SD I/O) expansion cards. SD I/O is a standard that enables the addition of new functionality such as Bluetooth, 802.11, GPS, presentation display, or digital imaging to a host device like the Treo 90. There are currently two expansion cards that can take advantage of Treo 90’s SD I/O capabilities. One is MARGI System’s Presenter-to-Go, which connects the Treo 90 directly to digital LCD projectors or other VGA devices to show business presentations stored on Treo in full color. This solution includes software that allows for slide presentation from any printable Windows application including PowerPoint, Word and HTML. The other expansion card currently available is the Palm Bluetooth Card. This card lets people wirelessly link a Treo 90 to any other Bluetooth-enabled device within a 30-foot radius. For example, a customer could use the Treo 90 with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to access the Internet, email, and messages wirelessly.

PalmSource, Inc. announced that it has shipped the PalmSource Web Browser to Palm OS licensees. Nearly 10 million active Internet users in the United States use the Internet via mobile phones and handheld computers for a variety of needs including email, local services, and many others. The PalmSource Web Browser is designed to give users security, speed, and graphics capability.

The makers of ScorePAD, a Palm OS-based baseball scoring system, announced that the software is being used for in-game scoring by Major League Baseball broadcasters, public relations directors, and official scorers.

Fictionwise announced a 100% Micropay Rebate on credit card purchases of Stephen King

This was an early PDA/communicator before there were such things. But it was dumb. Very pricey, very arrogant, and very, very non-inclusive. And it sucked. What’s incomprehensible is how that company managed to last this long. In this case, “this” is today. General Magic is no more.

For those of you curious why our news coverage this week seems somewhat spotty, it’s because our news editor, Steve Niles, is on vacation. In his place, David, our somewhat out-of-control editor-in-chief is occassionally posting things when the feeling strikes him. Let’s hope Steve’s back on the job real soon! Normal news coverage (coverage with adult supervision) should resume next week

This was an early PDA/communicator before there were such things. But it was dumb. Very pricey, very arrogant, and very, very non-inclusive. And it sucked. What’s incomprehensible is how that company managed to last this long. In this case, “this” is today. General Magic is no more.

For those of you curious why our news coverage this week seems somewhat spotty, it’s because our news editor, Steve Niles, is on vacation. In his place, David, our somewhat out-of-control editor-in-chief is occassionally posting things when the feeling strikes him. Let’s hope Steve’s back on the job real soon! Normal news coverage (coverage with adult supervision) should resume next week

PalmSource, Inc., the Palm OS( subsidiary of Palm, Inc. announced that it has shipped the PalmSource Web Browser to Palm OS licensees. According to PalmSource, the the PalmSource Web Browser gives users “unprecedented security, speed and graphics capability and further establishes Palm OS 5 as the platform of choice for delivering mobile Internet solutions to both enterprise and consumer markets.”

“We have seen a rapid growth in the number of mobile Internet users and believe that with improved Web browsing capability, we will attract an even larger audience for wireless handhelds and smart phones,” said Steve Sakoman, chief product officer of PalmSource Inc. “Our new proxy-less browser takes advantage of the performance of the ARM processor and leverages market-proven technology from ACCESS to bring a new level of browsing functionality to Palm OS 5 users.”

Based on ACCESS’ Netfront v3.0 browser, the company claims the PalmSource Web Browser offers a “rich, powerful mobile Internet end-user experience.” Further, the company claims:

“Enterprises and consumers alike will benefit from increased security as transactions are conducted via SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Because the Browser is proxy-less the user’s information does not reside on a server and instead the connection is made directly from the wireless device to the Internet. The browser also supports Internet standards, including the latest W3C specifications, HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0, Dynamic HTML, cHTML (Compact HTML), DOM Level 1 and Level 2, CSS, and ECMA Script (JavaScript 1.5).”

Handspring today announced the availability of a software upgrade for the Treo 90 handheld organizer that provides compatibility with Secure Digital Input/Output (SD I/O) expansion cards. SD I/O is a standard that enables the addition of new functionality such as Bluetooth, 802.11, GPS, presentation display or digital imaging to a host device like the Treo 90. Treo 90, a lightweight organizer with a built-in QWERTY keyboard, features a full-color display and 16 MB of memory. The upgrade is available free of charge.

There are currently two expansion cards that can take advantage of Treo 90’s SD I/O capabilities. One is MARGI System’s Presenter-to-Go, which connects the Treo 90 directly to digital LCD projectors or other VGA devices to show business presentations stored on Treo in full color. This solution includes software that allows for slide presentation from any printable Windows application including PowerPoint, Word and HTML.

The other expansion card currently available is the Palm Bluetooth Card. This card lets people wirelessly link a Treo 90 to any other Bluetooth-enabled device within a 30-foot radius. For example, a customer could use the Treo 90 with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to access the Internet, email and messages wirelessly.=20