On Thursday, Palm launched a $100 rebate on the $400 Palm VIIx when signing up for the Palm.Net service. Just purchase a VIIx between now and the end of the year, subscribe to a Palm.Net service plan, then complete an on-line rebate form, and they'll credit your account after the third month of service.

Palm has avoided heavily marketing the VII series until now because of component shortages. Those are easing, however, and Palm is clearly ready to start seriously pushing this wireless model.

TapSpring, the Taiwanese company with some very innovative ideas for Palm V series add-ons, is almost ready to release their first product, the HATcker 101. It isn't available until the end of this month but we have a sneak peak at this handy device that allows V series handhelds to connect to PC keyboards and will eventually be able to do lots of other stuff, too.

LandWare has begun shipping the GoType! keyboard for the m100. It includes a serial port for HotSyncing and is compatible with all Palm OS applications. No batteries or cables are required. It weighs less than 12 ounces, and measures 10" x 4" x 1". It costs $70 and comes with a free word processor and thesaurus.

They have also just made the floating•point stylus available. The company says their patent pending non-linear, dampened nib faithfully replicates the feel of writing on a pad of paper. Available now for the Palm V, III & VII series. It is selling for $14.

MTS and Zero Gravity have announced an Internet connection and other wireless services for Palm Canada customers throughout most of Manitoba. The new service, also called Zero Gravity, allows high level, wireless access to the Internet, full e-mail service, and customized, web-based content services. It runs on MTS's wireless data CDPD network which covers about 85% of the population of Manitoba and over 95% by July.

According to The Street, Palm Inc. may have used an accountant's trick to make last quarter's earnings look better than they really were. The accounting involved is a bit murky and not all experts agree that what Palm did was unusual.

PocketSensei has announced the release of SilverScreen 1.9, the application launcher that uses drag-and-drop access to commonly-used functions. This new version introduces a file deletion system that allows the trash bin's contents may be deleted in a single operation or files may be recovered one at a time. The list view interface has also been re-designed to provide additional information and faster operation. All registered owners of SilverScreen may upgrade for free. SilverScreen 1.9 sells for $20. -Mark Peters

Coola Inc. today launched support for Apple's Macintosh, letting Mac users send and receive any information or document to handheld devices from Apple's Mac computers.

Geek.com has a report from a reader who claims to have seen the Palm m105 being listed on a distributor's site in Norway. According to the reader, it's a Palm with 8 MB and will run Palm OS 3.5. Apparently, it's going to be in stock on the 20th of February.

Palm CEO Carl Yankowski said that his company's new wireless models, which should be released before the middle of the year, will be better than the BlackBerry from Research in Motion. "We can do everything that (Research In Motion) does not,'' he said. Palm is is working with an unnamed consulting company to build a a wireless service bureau to handle wireless instant messaging and e-mail.

Mr. Yankowski made these remarks today to the Robertson Stephens technology investors conference. He also said that while Palm has long contemplated spinning its OS licensing business off as a separate company from its device manufacturing business, the revenue generated is still too small to create a healthy company.

Yesterday, companies made announcements of new batteries and SDRAM that might go into future Palm Powered models.

Toshiba publicly displayed its new rechargable Advanced Lithium Batteries (ALB) for the first time. Combining the flexibility of Lithium polymer technology (PLB) with the high energy density of traditional Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, ALBs can be as thin as 1 mm. They also decrease battery swelling to less than 0.1 mm. ALBs cost about 20% more than Li-ion batteries but slightly less than PLB ones.

AdAlive, who announced a few months ago that they would be creating a network of free Palm Internet access-points in airports and other public areas, has made their very first ones immediately available at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York through billboards at the American Airlines terminal. The connection is made through infrared and the beta of a free software app (approx. 300 KB) that can be downloaded from the company's website.

PDAControls.com is launching a FREE Palm Software Web Ring. It is devoted solely to free Palm software and is a great place for individuals and developers to showcase their products and sites. Even if you have a Palm related site that offers links to FREE Palm software, or FREE eBooks for Palm OS devices, list it. -Drew Rossman

Palm has added new models to its Refurbished Handhelds page. In addition to the $100 Palm III and the $280 Palm VII, they have added the IIIxe at $180 and the IIIc at $230. -Ed