Handspring had some exciting new Springboard vendors in its booth at MacWorld; because of the coming IPO, Palm was relatively silent.

Xircom was showing its new Springboard wireless LAN product, using the 802.11b standard, allowing the Visor to talk to Apple's AirPort base station. The largest module we've seen, it nonetheless fits in the hand nicely. The Mac acts as a server to the Visor, providing it with email and chat functionality. Any Palm applications that allow web browsing or other IP functions can use the module as well. The module runs at a top speed of 11MB per second and full speed range is 160 feet from the base station. At slower speeds, the range goes out to around 375 feet.

DataViz previewed its next version of Documents to Go for the Palm. The product is currently in beta. It adds rich text viewing, document exchange via beaming, and the ability to select and copy text.

The control chip maker Zilog has unveiled a Springboard module that allows the Visor to function as a remote control for their ambitious home automation project. The unit also functions as a cordless 900MHz phone that can work several miles from the home. Called the Wave Communicator, it offers full-duplex communication, adaptive frequency hopping, and low current consumption. Their plan includes several other systems to make their automated home a reality. Look for more information on this in future issues of Pen Computing.

-Shawn Barnett

-Steve Holden (sholden@pencomputing.com) eFax: 978-246-3067