mOcean, a mp3 digital audio player for the Palm OS, has been updated. mOcean features a touch sensitive scrolling user interface and controls much like the popular Apple iPod. This latest version features a number of enhancements and performance tweaks. MotionApps has also added iTunes synchronization for Mac OS X users (the program originally only included Windows iTunes syncing when first released).

Users of iTunes on Mac and Windows computers are now able to transfer their music to their device much faster than before. mOcean v2.5 features an advanced synchronization module that will automatically keep your mobile and desktop tunes in sync without the need of going through pain of manual file transfers through HotSync.

Resco Backup for Palm OS has been updated to v1.40. Resco Backup is an easy-to-use, but powerful utility to protect your Palm device. It allows you to backup and restore from a memory card and has a large host of options including scheduled backups, encryption, backup set analysis and a number of other features. This new version includes a new live filter set, improved verification and a new option to clear the DbCache after backups, which can help the overall performance of your NVFS device.

Resco Backup is available as a free trial and costs $14.95 to register. It is currently on sale for $11.95 until August 8th.

The Washington Post has a brief news snippet on Palm today. They are carrying a quote from Palm CEO Ed Colligan in regards to future Treo smartphones and Wi-Fi capability. The quote reads...

"We do believe Wi-Fi is an important technology," Colligan said. "There's no question that we'll ultimately put in our products, but at the right time."

Palm usually offers the above reasoning when questioned about the absence of Wi-Fi in its products, , citing the large impact on battery life.

VodaFone of the United Kingdom has posted a teaser and e-mail notification signup for the forthcoming GSM Windows Mobile-powered Treo. The Vodafone page is very scarce with details other than outlining the benefits of Windows Mobile 5.0's wireless push e-mail features.

What is known for certain is that the latest Treo, announced last week, will initially launch in the UK on Vodafone only. This upcoming device will be the first Windows Mobile-powered GSM/UMTS Treo. It will also be the first Palm device, smartphone or PDA, ever to debut outside the United States. Palm has not announced availability with any other carriers for its new Treo, Cingular or T-Mobile will carry this device in the United States.

New Palm entertainment software is always a welcome sight. New Palm action titles are even more exciting, being that the genre is rather underrepresented on the OS. So it stands to reason that a sequel to a high-quality POS action game is something worth getting excited over right? Less than three months after reviewing the original Sky Force for PIC, I saw on Infinite Dreams’ website that a sequel, Sky Force: Reloaded, was in the works. Read on and see if this marathon shooter is truly a worthy sequel or just an expansion pack to an already outstanding game!

A mildly ominous article has been posted by the Motley Fool's Tim Beyers. Dated June 30, 2006, the article goes into considerable comparing and contrasting Palm's fiscal year '06 standings vs. the previous two years. Several reasons for the company's first quarter of negative cash flow since 2003 are also illustrated. Of particular interest is a statement concerning a 63% rise in Palm's inventory in Q4 2006. The article does not mention if any distinction is made between older, leftover PDA inventory or unsold Treo inventory. Recent rumors have pointed to high return rates for the 700w. Additionally, Treo 700w's sales figures have been vaguely disclosed as, at worst, disappointing or at best, slower to ramp up than expected by Palm. These factors combined with the relentless competition by other handset manufacturers could account for much of the negative news. A recent article on Forbes points to an upcoming smartphone price battle due to competition with Motorola.

PalmAddicts has posted a transcript of an email interview with Maureen O’Connell, the Senior Director of Corporate Communications at PalmSource, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's ACCESS Corporation. PalmAddicts' PJ Arts serves up an array of the pressing issues plaguing the Palm user community such as the uncertain future of the Palm OS, the status of the mythical Cobalt OS, the unknown plans of PalmSource's only remaining "name" licensee other than Palm Inc. and a slew of other questions. While the responses are the usual canned corporate safe-speak, a few interesting tidbits can be gleaned by reading between the lines of the PalmSource responses and using some imaginative speculation.

iPods 99, a web site specializing in replacement batteries for portable media devices and handhelds, is now offering a 1800mAh replacement battery for Palm's LifeDrive Mobile Manager. Claiming up to 40% improvement over the standard battery life, this battery retails for $24.95. Seeing as how the LifeDrive's original stock battery is 1660mAh, this claim seems highly dubious at best. Further perusal of their site shows that this is a generic text used throughout numerous Palm models. For example, the site shows that the battery claming to be extended life (actually 900mAh) for the Palm TX actually has a 25% lesser capacity than the TX's stock 1150mAh battery. One would also need to open up the LifeDrive and void the warranty in order to add this battery.

Olathe Unified School District in Olathe, Kan., added 2,300 Palm TX handhelds and an equal number of keyboards to its high schools, Palm today announced. The purchase nearly doubles the district's investment in Palm handhelds. Considered one of the most technologically progressive school districts in the state, Olathe is providing 1,400 Palm TX handhelds to Olathe Northwest High School, the first school in the district to get Palm handhelds three years ago. Nine hundred more will go to Olathe East High School.

According to a report on Brighthand, Palm has ended shipments of the the LifeDrive Mobile Manager to Europe. Due to the EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) law, Palm's ceased exports of their LifeDrive, alongside the Treo 650, to Europe as of July 1st.