Seidio has just released a new extended life battery for the Palm Treo 650 and 700w. The battery is the same size as the standard battery, and provides approximately 33% longer talk and standby time. This extended battery provides 2400mAh versus the standard 1800mAh and is only 1g heavier. It is on sale now at at PalmInfocenter for $39.95.

The mVox MV900 is a new Bluetooth speakerphone accessory being carried by Palm. The company just announced that Palm has certified the wireless portable speakerphone for use with the Treo 650 and 700w smartphones.

Fossil has removed the Palm OS Wrist PDA from their website. It now seems that the company has ended all development of the Wrist PDA and will no longer be selling new models.

Makayama Software has launched Palm Media Studio 1.0 today. The new software converts DVD movies, downloaded TV shows and other video clips to a mobile format for your handheld or smartphone.

DeluxeWare has released Hockey World Championship, the first 5 on 5 ice hockey simulator game for the Palm OS. The game simulates a real world ice hockey championship. It features realistic game physics, players motions and a full ice rink.

StyleTap, the Palm OS emulator for Windows Mobile, has been updated to support the Palm Treo 700w smartphone. This version now allows the Treo 700w to run many Palm OS applications.

When I last wrote about Linux on the Treo 650, it was barely booting up the command prompt. Now less than 2 months later, developers have got the GPE graphical interface up and running. GPE is an open source user interface for using Linux on a handheld. It contains an environment of components for PIM, settings network access and other programs. So far people working on the Treo 650 Linux porting have got the keyboard, LCD, touchscreen, bootloader, SD slot, USB and some sound working. Phone and Bluetooth drivers are still under development. There is no word yet on how stable or functional this is, as only a batch of pictures have been posted.

updated A possible image of the next Palm OS Treo has been posted in the forums at TreoCentral. The image is what the poster claims is the Palm Treo 700p. The Treo pictured has the same basic form factor as the 700w with Sprint's new branding.

The worldwide market for handheld devices swelled to its largest quarterly shipment volume all year, reaching 2.2 million units during the fourth quarter, growing 37.6% from the previous quarter. According to IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView, growth was driven largely by a combination of holiday sales and larger shipment volumes of devices that were introduced earlier in the year. But despite reaching its peak during the year, shipment volumes decreased 18.2% from the same quarter a year ago. For the full year 2005, shipments of handheld devices reached 7.5 million units, a 16.7% decrease from the 9.1 million units shipped in 2004.

Mark Nelson, a private investor who owns over 7% of Palm, has sent a letter to Palm's board recommending the company seriously consider a buyout. The letter comes amidst growing speculation on Wall Street that the company is up for sale and a recent rise in the Palm's stock price. More...

Forbes has an article on recent statements made by Caris & Company Equity Research analyst Susan Kalla about Palm. The analyst states that Palm's stock has seen a sharp increase in recent weeks due to a takeover rumors on Wall Street, but believes the company will remain independent. The real news of the statement is that she believes the new Treo 700 with the Palm OS may be delivered in April, before expectations of May, and may also be released initially at Verizon. More...