Of course, this holiday season will be fortified by the fact that grotesque consumerism in the name of bolstering the economy has become a patriotic duty. This year, our stockings will be red and white and blue as well. It's not about the giving or the receiving. It's about the spending. Which is fine with me, if it justifies my buying myself a DVD player.

As the holiday shopping season begins to kick into high gear, Palm has already announced its first round of special demonstrations and promotions to get you out to the stores to buy for all the good little boys and girls on your list.

Free expansion card
First out of Santa's sack we find that with the purchase of a Palm m125, m500, or m505 handheld, you can mail in for a free 16MB Panasonic SD (Secure Digital) expansion card and $250 worth of coupons for additional expansion products. The promotion runs through January 7, 2002.

SD cards are postage stamp-sized cards that can back up data, increase memory, and add content, such as games, ebooks, and reference materials. They fit into the expansion card slot built into the new Palm m125, Palm m500, and Palm m505. This expansion technology is the smallest and lightest way to expand the capabilities of any handheld.

This is a mail-in offer, so you'll have to submit the redemption form (available at participating retails stores), the original UPC barcode from the Palm handheld box, and a copy of the sales receipt dated between November 1, 2001 and January 7, 2002. The envelope must be postmarked by February 7, 2002.

Palm will then send you the free Panasonic SD expansion card and the coupon book. The coupon book includes savings on expansion products from partners such as Corex, Cross, FranklinCovey, Franklin Electronic Publishers, Handmark, Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel, Pocket Express, Rand McNally, Northstar Mobile, MidWest PCB Designs, and Novatel Wireless. The offer is only valid, where permitted, in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada.

Palm m505 price reduction
Palm has also lowered the price on its Palm m505 color handheld, resulting in an estimated street price of $399 (previously $449). To learn more about the Palm m505, check out Chris Phillips' review in the June 2001 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200106/m500001.html.