More Details of Palm's Wireless Plans Emerge

Alexis Martial, Palm's Director of Engineering, Europe, said at Mobile Insights's Go Mobile Europe conference that, by next year, Palm will support both Bluetooth and GPRS.

"Our Bluetooth rollout strategy is quite aggressive but I can't give you any specific dates," Martial said. The company is already designing new clip-on Bluetooth modules with innovative designs. He went on to say that they aren't yet committed to designing Palms with built-in Bluetooth but they are still considering it.

Palm is also planning to release clip-on modules that support wireless Internet access over GPRS (general packet radio service), a packet-switched wireless technology that most of Europe's GSM operators are deploying to speed up data transmissions, Martial said. These will be followed by an integrated device with built-in GPRS support before the end of 2001.

GPRS is capable of offering speeds as high as 115Kbps, although, in real-world situations, speeds will more likely be similar to the 56Kbps offered by wired modems.

This is very good news for Europen users, as most wireless access there is provided by GSM. GSM is used in the U.S. by some companies, like VioceStream Wireless and Pacific Bell.

This doesn't mean much for users of rival wireless methods, like AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.