Turn a Palm Handheld into FM Radio, Universal Remote or Interactive TV Companion With New SDIO Devices

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- International Consumer Electronics Show -- To encourage the proliferation of Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) devices, Palm Solutions Group today said it has expanded the PluggedIn Program to include a comprehensive SDIO component. Program members now have access to the first SDIO hardware development kit (HDK) available on the market, enabling a significantly faster development process.

By combining a robust, postage-stamp-sized Secure Digital (SD) memory card with input/output functionality, developers today offer digital cameras, wireless communications and digital projection. With Palm's expanded developer's program, more solutions at competitive prices are likely to speed to market, building the momentum of SDIO.

"The SD expansion format has proven itself ideal for a lot more than memory," said Ken Wirt, Palm's senior vice president of marketing and product management. "Its Input/Output capabilities inside a sturdy yet sleek format means cameras, communications, digital projectors and more are possible and commercially viable. Our new SDIO developer program has a lot of potential to make customers very happy by making their handhelds do so much more than they ever thought possible."

Palm made the world's first SDIO card -- the Palm(TM) Bluetooth Card -- adding to the momentum from more than 500 leading electronics companies that have adopted and embraced SD products. In fact, Palm was the first handheld-computer maker to adopt SD as its expansion format, and since it announced support for SD, interest and commercial availability of the cards has grown tremendously.

SDIO Hardware Development Kit

The new SDIO HDK is based on an upcoming ASIC chip from Hagiwara Sys-Com that allows developers to create SDIO solutions faster with fewer components, lower power consumption, fewer space requirements and most importantly decreased cost. The new chip provided to Palm PluggedIn Program developers is instrumental in enabling development as it eliminates the need for developers to create their own custom SDIO chip. The HDK starter kit includes a board, sample application and necessary documentation. Orders are being accepted for the HDK via the Palm Expansion Parts Store on the PluggedIn Program website.

New SDIO Cards Demonstrated At CES
Three companies are demonstrating new products at CES, including:

-- iBiz -- FM Radio SDIO card turns the Palm handheld into a FM radio
tuner;
-- Novii -- SD Blaster SDIO card and software changes the Palm handheld
into an enhanced universal remote; and
-- VEIL Interactive -- iTV enabled SDIO card gives Palm users the ability
to interact with encoded television content.

Several other companies have paved the way with the first SDIO products, including Palm with the Palm Bluetooth Card, Margi with the Presenter-To-Go digital projection solution and Veo with the Photo Traveler digital camera.

About PluggedIn Program

Information about Palm's PluggedIn Program is available at http://www.palm.com/developers/pluggedin.

About Palm, Inc.

Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm.

NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Palm, Inc.