Dmitry Grinberg has released the first full release version of his SDHC driver for Palm handhelds. The software updates the memory cards drivers for certain Palm PDA's so that they can read and write to larger SDHC compatible cards of 4 GB and higher.

PowerSDHC is available now for $20.95. There is a free trial version for which you have to register for a trial key. The driver is currently compatible with the Palm TX, LifeDrive, Tungsten T5, C, E2, Zire 31 and Zire 72 models. Dmitry says he plans on adding support for the Tungsten T3, E and Tapwave Zodiac soon.

Henk "Metaview" Jonas continues to release improvements to his most excellent ehnanced Keyguard called Nexave. The app simply replaces the standard Treo or Centro keyguard, with a much nicer looking animated transparent slip that displays the time and various system settings. You can unlock the device by swiping your finger on the screen, or with the usual center click. New features include a batter time and battery display, bluetooth status, support for kMeteo weather forecasts and the usual bug fixes.

Nexave v1.5 is currently available as freeware. Its source is also available under the GPL. It works with all high-res Palm OS 5 devices including the Centro and Treo. You can checkout a video of it in action after the break.

Palm Inc. today announced their fifth consecutive quarterly loss today as the company continues its transformation efforts. The company reported a loss of $41.9 million on higher than expected revenues of $366.9 million. During the call Palm CEO Ed Colligan stressed that the company was "still solidly in the midst of its transformation with some significant hurdles yet to come."

The conference call touched on progress on the next generation Palm OS, the possible plateau of Centro momentum and the recent launch of the Treo 800w and Treo Pro products. Colligan also warned that as Palm continues its transition period he expects further losses in the next few quarters to come.

Palm, Inc. today reported that total revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 was $366.9 million. Smartphone sell-through for the quarter was 1,029,000 units, up 49 percent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $333.8 million, up 10 percent from the year-ago period.

"I'm pleased with our momentum as we work to re-establish Palm as the leading innovator in the smartphone marketplace," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer. "While we're still in the midst of our transformation and have challenges ahead, we are bringing outstanding new products to market, hiring world-class talent and preparing to launch a new platform that will usher in a new era at Palm."

In what should come as little surprise, the Palm Treo 680 smartphone has just been EOL'd at AT&T according to a newly leaked company document obtained by the Boy Genius Report. The document lists both the standard and crimson colored 680 as end of life. The nearly two year old GSM device has largely been superseded by the trendier Palm Centro, which nearly matches the device spec-wise with a smaller package and lower price point. The Treo 680 debuted on AT&T (then Cingular) back in November 2006. It sold for $199 with a two year contract and data plan.

The leaked AT&T roadmap is also notable for what it does not mention in the upcoming "launch column". There are no references to any other upcoming Palm devices, which is not a good sign for anyone holding out for a carrier subsidized Treo Pro.

iambic today announced the availability of Health & Diet Manager v3.0 for Palm OS devices. The program does everything from tracking your health-related vitals (resting pulse, blood pressure, hours slept), calories consumed and calories expended, to helping you create an action plan for eating and exercising. ambic has also announced the availability of a new, Windows Desktop version of Health & Diet Manager.

Health & Diet Manager v3.0 is available now for Palm OS 4 and above as well as Windows Mobile devices. It sells for $19.95 and comes with a free trial period. The Windows desktop version, which allows complete data synchronization with the mobile apps, is also priced at $19.95.

TouchBook is a new freeware replacement for the default Address Book or Contacts application from Ryhor Burakou, developer of the popular TouchLauncher application. TouchBook provides a simple to user interface with the ability to flick your list of contacts with your finger. It also includes a photo photo favorites screen as well. It includes wallpaper support, keyboard search and other handy shortcuts for new emails and sms messages.

TouchBook v1.0 is available for devices running Palm OS 5 and above. It is currently available as freeware.

PDA247 recently acquired a relic of the Palm OS past and has posted an interesting retro review. The device in question is a Qool QDA-700 a Palm OS smartphone from 2004 that included a number of innovative features for its time but never seemed to gain much market acceptance. Shaun says in his video review (embedded after the break) that he purchased the device for the bargain price of £25.

The Qool QDA-700 was a Palm OS Garnet based smartphone based on a reference design by PiTech. It was first announced in Sept 2004 and later became available in limited quantities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The device included robust multimedia capabilities for its time such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, 2.8-inch color QVGA (240x320) display and a built in mp3 and mp4 video applications. It even featured support for Wi-Fi cards via its SD slot.

MotionApps has released a new version of their desktop "dashboard" for Windows Mobile powered devices. mDesktop essentially enables you to use and share your Phone's screen and features on your Windows PC. You can make calls, send SMS messages, browse files, manage aspects of your device and use your smartphone's data and applications from your PC's big screen and keyboard. Some of the new features include auto-connect functionality, visual interface improvements, contact management, file operations and the ability to install and manage apps.

mDesktop v2.0 is available now for $19.95. It is compatible with Windows Mobile Professional and smartphone edition 5 and above and requires a PC running Windows XP or Vista. A 7 day free trial period is included.

On Sale CallRec 6.0 Caribbean Poker 1.08 Money Deluxe 1.01 Darts Deluxe II 2.53 VoiceDialIt - Voice Dialing for your Treo 2.0 Convertor Deluxe 2.26 Table Football 1.21 Navigator 1.482 Golden Skull - Saeed's Adventures 1.10 ZombieAttack 1.10

New Software mySchedule NHL 2008 1.1 Brixster 1.0 Golden Tee Golf (Palm OS) 1.0.6 Active Student Organizer 3.1 TouchBook 1.0 Map My Tracks 1.3.1 Study Notes Organizer 2.0 Handy Checkbook 3.0 Thindden 1.0 HandSokoban 1.0

Updated Software PalmaryClock 3.6 PalmaryClock for Treo and Centro 3.6 PDACookbook Plus 5.0.4 eDrinksMixn 4.0s eDrinksMixn Deluxe 4.0s ScaleMaster 1.5 InfoSafe Plus 5.0.5 PalmaryClock Wireless for Treo and Centro 1.4 PalmaryClock Wireless 1.4 eQuickRecipes Deluxe 4.0s

Worldwide smartphone sales totalled 32.2 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 15.7 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2007, according to a newly released report from Gartner, Inc. In addition, of all mobile device sales, smartphones' share remained stable at 11 per cent.

In other interesting news from the data is that the share of Palm OS smartphones increased year over year from 1.7% to 2.3%. Unit sales were just under 744k units sold in 2Q08 up from 462k in the quarter last year.