ZDNet has an article on Palm, Inc.’s announced release of the Palm Mobile Internet Kit, which will enable Palm users to connect to the Internet via the infrared ports on their mobile phones. By year-end, Palm hopes to have all its devices wirelessly enabled. The Mobile Internet Kit is a software application offering the same Web clipping capabilities that are available now on the Palm VII.

CNET News reports Palm shares rose “after the company posted earnings that narrowly beat expectations and confirmed that a memory glitch could cause data errors in some models of its flagship handheld computer.” Palm chief executive Carl Yankowski says this news proves consumers and businesses believe in the Palm platform. “What’s even more impressive,” Yankowski is quoted in the article, “is that we achieved these results despite industrywide component shortages.”

Michael Compeau has sent us word that Jean Ichbiah of FITALY, an alternative to Graffiti input, is running a contest at his site to see who can input a specific text at the highest speed. The winner or winners get a bottle of Dom Perignon! The leader is currently at over 70 wpm using FitalyStamp, and the fastest Graffiti writer is at about 45 wpm. (This is about 50% faster than Mike.)

At PC EXPO, Microsoft and Aether Systems, Inc. announced the launch of Aether

Handango announced that the company will sponsor the new McAfee.com Wireless Security Center. Handango will be the exclusive provider of third-party software offered inside the “Software Matchmaker” section of the McAfee.com Wireless Security Center for Palm, Pocket PC, Windows CE, and Symbian devices.

According to TechWeb News, BSquare is preparing to ship a software application called EZBeam 1.1 that lets Windows CE-based and Palm OS-based devices exchange data using infrared. The software should work with many Windows CE-based devices, including the wireless handhelds, Symbol 2700 series, Pocket PCs, web-based appliances, and Auto PCs with infrared ports.

As part of its upcoming Mobile Internet Kit, Palm announced at PC Expo that it’s teaming with an auto and travel assistance company called 1-800-TOW-TRUCK to offer Traveler SOS as a bundled software application for certain future Palm devices. The application offers a roadside assistance feature and messaging service for travelers.

OmniSky Corporation confirmed its plan to bring wireless Internet and email services to the Handspring Visor. At PC Expo yesterday, the company demonstrated the OmniSky service on the Handspring Visor at a briefing. The wireless service allows subscribers to access and navigate the Internet, send and receive email, and conduct e-commerce transactions over handheld mobile devices. OmniSky is currently available on the Palm V and Palm Vx.

Datastick Systems, Inc. announced at PC Expo two new systems for measuring and recording temperature on Palm handhelds. The general-purpose MyCorder DAS-1206 data acquisition system and the MyCorder DAS-101T system for temperature measurement and recording are part of the the MyCorder System’s new Thermocouple Series.

GoAmerica Communications Corp. announced it has licensed Oracle’s Portal-To-Go wireless portal software and plans to integrate it with their Go.Web technology. During a press briefing at PC Expo, GoAmerica President and CEO Aaron Dobrinsky said, “Our vision is to bring the power of the Internet to mobile workers over any device, anywhere, anytime.” He believes Oracle’s Portal-To-Go will help deliver their vision to corporations by providing secure access to corporate data for mobile workers.