Everyone gets wireless access, but they get it in different ways. To further aid developers who want to use Java and Visual Basic, Palm introduced new enterprise development tools from Sun and AppForge . The Visual Basic tool was prescient. For end users, Palm also released the beta version of its MyPalm portal, which could be downloaded from its Web site. The portal gives users access to e-mail, their financial accounts, and their date book, as well as a variety of news, finance, shopping, entertainment, and travel services through either a wireless Palm VII or over the Web.
Users can share their calendar and contact databases with others through the new portal.
To enhance these capabilities, Palm also said it would acquire WeSync, a company that has developed software for wirelessly synchronizing multiple users. But Palm isn't the only handheld vendor that's making strategic acquisitions. Last week, Handspring acquired Bluelark Systems, whose Bluesky and Blazer applications bring wireless Internet access to handheld devices. As we finish the acquisition this quarter, we will launch the browser on our own Web site as well, and we plan to bundle it with our VisorPhone product. Access to the wireless Internet is becoming a requirement for many handheld devices, and vendors are scrambling to fill the demand.