After this latest round of Palm rumors and leaks, we can now paint a fairly accurate of Palm's product roadmap for the remainder of the year. With the impending arrival of a Palm OS GSM Palm Centro, the series of CDMA Treo 800w rumors, and now these two new Drucker and Wanda semi-confirmations, Palm's 2008 plans are looking a bit brighter than some had previously feared.

Palm has posted a note on its blog that it will soon no longer be providing the IBM WebSphere Micro Environment Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on its site. As of Jan 12, Palm will no longer provide a download for the JVM runtime. The Java Micro Environment JVM is required to run J2ME Java based applications on Palm OS devices such as Opera Mini and Google's downloadable Gmail client.

The WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment for Palm OS can still be downloaded here until this Saturday.

ShSh Software has released an update to its TAKEphONE software. TAKEphONE is a telephony & contact management application, designed to simplify and enhance using your contacts and making calls. It also sports enhanced search capabilities, as well as telephony features, such as calling-card support, extra digits dialing on all contacts, Internet phone number search and much more. New in this version is improved graphics and a number of other user interface improvements.

TAKEphONE v7.55 is available for $19.95 USD. The upgrade is free for registered users, simply install the new version via the free trial.

Advanced details about Microsoft's next-generation version of Windows Mobile have been leaked on the Inside Microsoft blog. The site appears to have obtained a Microsoft internal briefing document on Windows Mobile 7. The document outlines the major new features coming to WM7 which include a host of new input and interaction methods, a system-wide UI revamp and a new web browser and touch controls.

This weekend's final bit of Palm-related rumor news was confirmation of the pink Palm Centro, covered earlier by PIC. This was pretty much a given after the high resolution leaked product shot appeared on sprintusers. While certainly not an event that is going to turn the industry on its ear, it’s an encouraging sign that Palm Centro sales remain strong enough for Sprint to commit to a large quantity purchase of an additional color scheme. Users on the TreoCentral forums are confirming from Sprint customer service reps that the pink Centro is going to be available for phone sales from January 6th on, with in-store availability this Sunday, January 13th.

PalmInfocenter has been awarded the Best Palm / PDA news site in the 2007 PalmAddict Reader Awards. PIC received the most votes with just under 20,000 people voting among 30 other popular blogs, tech and mobile focused sites.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who voted and read the site. And also a huge thank you to the PIC writing staff, contributors, moderators and volunteers, without whom I don't think this award would be possible. All of your efforts are enormously appreciated.

I'd also like to announce that today marks the ninth anniversary of the founding of PalmInfocenter. It was on this day in 1999 that I first started posting about Palm news and software on a green and black site designed to resemble a Palm III backlit screen. Here's to many more years and a exciting 2008!

Handmark today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Astraware, the world’s leading smartphone gaming studio. Through the new relationship, Astraware will expand its existing UK games development studio to develop new high profile licenses as well as continuing work on original titles. Astraware will become the dedicated UK-based game studio for Handmark.

Bill Gates concluded his 12th and final CES keynote with a small tidbit that left Palm-watchers everywhere speculating about the existence of yet another new Windows Mobile Treo. Several sites, Engadget in particular, posted stills from Gates' slideshow imagery of Windows Mobile-based smartphones. A device clearly identifiable as the classic Treo formfactor was shown in white or possibly light silver with a square (likely 320x320) LCD running what presumably is the touchscreen-based WM 6.1 Professional. The device also appears to have a "smile" keyboard and the Centro/Z22/LifeDrive-esque "ring" 5-way navigator pad. It also has a section of dark grey plastic surrounding the earpiece, which is a styling cue not found on any current Treo or Centro.

While some have speculated that this is the mythical Treo 800w or 850v, codenamed "Drucker" we covered yesterday, that device's spec sheet listed it as having a flush touchscreen. The device depicted in Gates' presentation definitely has the conventional recessed touchscreen. I expect this to be the CDMA 800w device hinted at for several months now. Such a device has likely been in gestation longer than the "Drucker" and might not some of the Drucker’s cutting-edge styling cues such as the flush screen.

Palm's other leaked Windows Mobile 6.1-based device for today is a considerably higher-end offering. Codenamed the "Palm Drucker", this is billed by Vodafone as a direct replacement for the aging Treo 750v and also comes to us via the Boy Genius Report. "Drucker" will sport a 320x320 touchscreen that Palm OS fans have come to love alongside, of course, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (Pocket PC) instead of the WM Standard edition.

This device will appear earlier than the rumored "Palm Wanda", as it carries an estimated launch date of July 2008 with a pricetag of 270 GBP, equivalent to a whopping $533 USD. Unfortunately, no picture is provided of this device but I would expect it to look similar to the leaked images of the speculated Treo 800w from a few months ago—basically, thicker than a Centro but thinner than a Treo, with a slightly wider body and the usual "smile" pattern keyboard.

Monday's CES 2008 kick-off has already brought a larger-than-usual crop of Palm product leaks and rumors. Palm's aggressive Windows Mobile release strategy seems to be picking up steam, as The Boy Genius Report has posted some leaked Vodafone internal presentation slides that definitely let the cat out of the bag regarding Palm's two new WM 6.1-based Treos.

The first, codenamed the Palm "Wanda", looks to be a successor to the non-U.S. market Treo 500. The Wanda is being touted as a "Prosumer messaging device" and is directly referenced as being the 500v's successor. The leaked Vodafone slide reveals a phone basically identical to the earlier 500v as far as its cosmetics. The LCD is a carryover from the 500v (2.2" 320x240) as is the 2 megapixel camera. However, the "Wanda" ups the ante significantly in a radio upgrade to a fast 3G HSDPA radio versus the 500v’s slower UMTS while also adding 2008's hottest phone feature, built-in GPS.

BEIKS English Dictionary with Thesaurus has been updated for Palm OS devices. BEIKS English Dictionary includes definitions and pronunciation guides for over 34,000 words and expressions. It also includes a English Thesaurus database with over 55,000 unique English terms. Both apps are based on the expandable BEIKS Dictionary Reader, which is specially optimized for one-hand operation, minimal memory requirements and optimal access speed.

BEIKS English Dictionary with Thesaurus v6.0 for Palm OS is available now with a free trial period. It costs $19.95 for the full version if you decide to keep it. The Thesaurus is also available separately for $10.