Handspring
Handspring's Treo, a PDA/cellphone combo, had Damage absolutely smitten. With your choice of either a RIM-style keyboard or Graffiti-based input, the Treo 180 will be available next year. This GSM-based phone also sports a 33MHz Dragonball processor, 16MB of memory, and everything else you'd expect from a Palm-based PDA.

Treo: PDA-cellphone convergence

Surprisingly small and light, the Treo ditches Handspring's Springboard slot to save on space, and weighs in at a scant 5.4 ounces. Not bad for something that can replace your PDA and cell phone. With a color version due out next summer, the Treo reinforces a trend in PalmOS-based devices that sees wireless connectivity being pushed more than multimedia functionality.

Sony
Though Sony has never been a frontrunner in the Palm market, their new PEG-T415 may just be the best PDA out there. Currently the slimmest, lightest Palm-based PDA, the T415 also sports a high-resolution 320x320 greyscale screen, doubling the resolution of the vast majority of Palm-based handhelds. This is the handheld Dissonance has been waiting for: something that doesn't bother with all the frivolous multimedia features that only sap battery life and bloat a handheld's size.

For those who want their PDA to be more than just an organizer, Sony was also showcasing their PEG-N760C, a high-resolution color handheld running the PalmOS. Complete with headphones, the N760C has a built-in MP3 player and is about as close to PocketPC multimedia functionality as a Palm-based handheld is going to get.

This is a horrible, horrible picture of the T415

MP3s and the PalmOS with Sony's N760C

Micellaneous PDA accessories
While there were few earth-shattering handheld announcements at this year's Comdex, accessories really have caught on. Handspring was displaying a slew of Springboard modules from various manufacturers; everything from GPS units to MP3 players. Palm was pushing SD cards, with dictionaries, game packs, and even a complete road atlas all on a tiny postage stamp-sized memory card.

RIM-style addon keyboards seem to be the hot item this year. Just about every handheld had at least one RIM-style keyboard available as an available accessory. It will be interesting to see whether or not these keyboards replace Graffiti or handwriting recognition in the handheld market. If this year's products are any indication, the stylus could be on its way out.

One of the more unique products on display was a fuel cell-based battery charger for everything from PDAs to cell phones. Good for a handful of charges, the fuel cell relies on a chemical reaction to juice up your battery. Until they start making mobile devices with removable rechargable batteries, this kind of charger is a great idea for those without frequent access to an electrical outlet.