OmniSky Corporation, formerly OpenSky, announced the beta launch of its wireless Internet and email service. The extensive public beta program, which begins in mid-December, is being offered to Palm V users. OmniSky’s public beta program will begin in December, with signups starting immediately. The beta program is being offered to the first 5000 Palm V users who register for the service. For $299, beta users will receive an OmniSky Minstrel V wireless modem and unlimited service through March 31, 2000. At that point, these “charter” users will be offered a 15% lifetime discount on the lowest published rate for the service.

News.com has this article on what the new partnership between Palm Computing and Sony means. The article says that Sony may use the Palm OS to go after Nintendo’s GameBoy and Palm can use Sony’s MemoryStick technology in future devices.

OmniSky Corporation, formerly OpenSky, and AT&T today announced that they are teaming up to bring nationwide wireless email and Internet services to Palm V users. Under the agreement, AT&T will be the premier carrier for OmniSky’s suite of services, providing coverage throughout the U.S. The deal also includes a marketing agreement, through which AT&T will support OmniSky’s efforts to market the service.

IBM and PlanetRx, an online pharmacy, will announce a deal this week that lets you shop on Palm handheld devices. News.com says that IBM will supply hardware and software forming the service’s infrastructure and users with Palm III devices or higher can access PlanetRx.com’s remote shopping service and order products.

Now that you’ve heard all about the new deal between Palm Computing and Sony, don’t you want to know what the heck Sony’s Memory Stick is? Sony president Nobuyuki Idei demonstrated the device during Comdex.

ChoiceWay Media has introduced its new line of travel guides for Windows CE on the Palm-sized PC. The guides feature maps, information, and a traveler’s dictionary. Cities available are Rome, Paris, and London, with more on the way. $19.95.

Franklin Electronic Publishers and The Medical Letter, Inc. announced their new agreement that expands Franklin’s offerings of electronic medical publications for downloading to Palm, Windows CE and Psion devices. The Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions (HADI) will be available from Franklin as a download from the Internet or CD ROM to these three platforms.

Asia Biz Tech is reporting that Sega’s parent company, CSK wants to target the network-capable device market with Sega’s Dreamcast.

Microsoft announced it’s teaming up with Radio Shack. Tech Web reports that Microsoft will offer products and services at the RadioShack stores, including WebTV, Windows CE-based handheld devices, mobile products, and home networking services.

Franklin Electronic Publishers and The Medical Letter, Inc. announced their new agreement that expands Franklin’s offerings of electronic medical publications for downloading to Palm, Windows CE and Psion devices. The Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions (HADI) will be available from Franklin as a download from the Internet or CD ROM to these three platforms.