Palm is gearing up for what may be a busy week for
the handheld computer maker.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company Friday said it will be unveiling
two new handhelds under its new sub-brand, Tungsten. The product
announcements and launch event will be broadcast live on the Web.
Several Palm fan sites have posted specific details (including pictures)
of the mobile devices, which are identified as the Tungsten T and the
Tungsten W. Palm execs have dismissed the information as rumors.
The company did say it is still on track to deliver its new Tungsten
Mobile Information Management (MIM) server product. The platform, due
Monday, will offer secure wireless e-mail and groupware access. It is
designed for use with Windows NT and 2000 platforms to sync with the Palm
i705 handheld (because of its WAN
m500 series (with the Xircom 802.11 module).
The company would not say if the MIM server technology would be extended
to the two new Tungsten handhelds, its recently released Zire
handheld or other future Palm products.
There is some expectation that Palm will at least extend the capabilities
of its Tungsten MIM to Sony products considering the
company invested $20 million in PalmSource.
Regardless of product announcements, Palm executives will certainly have
their hands full come Monday. The company is holding its 2002 Analyst Day
that morning in New York beginning at 8 a.m. EST. Presentations from
corporate CEO Eric Benhamou as well as Palm Solutions Group CEO R. Todd
Bradley and PalmSource CEO David Nagel are expected.
The company has been going through a metamorphosis this year, including
the continued separation of its operating system software group, PalmSource and a shift in its brand
strategy – moving from its numeric identifications to names like
Tungsten and Zire.
