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Handhelds

News: Documents To Go Offers PowerPoint Editing

The latest version of DataViz's Documents To Go allows you to edit PowerPoint presentations on Palm OS handhelds for the first time, according to the company. (Documents To Go 4.0 Professional Edition lets you view but not edit PowerPoint files.) Documents To Go 5.0 also supports embedded graphics, paragraph formatting, and tables in Word documents and is compatible with the upcoming Palm OS 5 operating system.

There are now three versions of Documents To Go: Standard ($50), which lets you open and view Word and Excel files on a handheld; Professional (included on some Palm handhelds and not for individual sale), which lets you create, synchronize, and edit word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files; and Premium ($70), the same as Professional but with the added capabilities of synchronizing e-mail attachments, PDF files, pictures, and charts. Go to the DataViz Web site to buy the software or download a free trial.

News: Palm M130 Owners See Red, Get No Green

Palm M130 owners may be seeing red after Palm confirmed that its $249 handheld displays a few thousand colors less than originally advertised. Introduced in March, the PDA was said to display more than 65,000 colors. After the number was questioned in some chat rooms and reporters started asking Palm about the controversy, the company confirmed the M130 could actually display only 58,621 "color combinations." Palm representatives said the company is issuing apologies to registered owners of the M130 but has no immediate plans to give back any green. In other words, no refunds.

News: Handspring Treo Works on Sprint 3G Network

Handspring's Treo Communicator 300 supports Sprint's new PCS Vision 3G network service, which is capable of wirelessly sending voice and data at speeds similar to a 56-kilobits-per-second modem. The Treo 300 uses a customized version of the Palm 3.5 OS that has features specific to Handspring devices, including 16MB of memory, a 33-MHz processor, a Web browser, an e-mail client, and text messaging software, plus basic organizer functions and the ability to dial a number from the device's phone book. It has a built-in keyboard and color screen.

The 300 is available for $500 through Sprint PCS sales channels and on Handspring's Web site. Pricing for phone and data service on Sprint's network ranges from $45 to $120 a month, depending on usage.