Demo Days
While you're out on your shopping excursions, keep your eye out for Palm's "Demo Days" promotion. To encourage shoppers to try out the dual-expansion capabilities of the new Palm handheld models, in-store and sidewalk demonstrations are being set up across the country. Demo Days will take place from early November to mid-December, providing shoppers with hands-on experience with the devices as well as personal product instruction and education. The in-store demonstrations will be held in 150 key retail locations in the top 25 metropolitan markets. You'll be able to spot the sidewalk demonstrations because they'll be marked by Palm branded vehicles and banners. They'll take place in high-traffic locations in the top 12 markets.

So, just what is dual-expansion capability? Well, I've already mentioned the SD and MultiMediaCard expansion slot. The other piece of this puzzle is the Universal Connector. Palm has standardized the connector, normally used to attach the handheld to the HotSync cradle, across the three newest models and all future product releases. This makes it easier to invest in the large variety of accessories that attach to the connector, such as the Kodak PalmPix camera (at http://www.kodak.com/US/en/digital/cameras/palmPix/), the Minstrel m500 Modem (at http://www.novatelwireless.com/palmtop/minstrelm500.html), and the Navman GPS (at http://www.navman-mobile.com).

You can use both expansion features at once, so, for example, you can insert the PalmPak Travel Card: Rand McNally Road Atlas into the expansion slot, while at the same time you connect the Navman GPS receiver to the Universal Connector. You can then track your movements on the displayed maps.

Other deals
There are a variety of other promotions being offered at the Palm Store on Palm's Web site at http://store.palm.com/Catalog/promotions/promoindex.asp. These deals are only available until December 1, 2001, so you'd better act fast.

For example, you can get a Palm m505, a travel charger, and the Palm Travel Card for only $419, a savings of $59.90. You could get the Professional Bundle, which includes a Palm m125, the Slim Leather Case, and the PalmPak Dictionary/Thesaurus Card for just $269.95, a savings of $43.95. Then there's the Fun and Games Bundle, which provides three snap-on faceplates and the PalmPak Game Card with the Palm m125. This is available for $249, a savings of $59.80.

Visor deals
Handspring is running a bunch of promotions as well. You can check them out at http://www.handspring.com/promos/. Most of these include free accessories with the purchase of various Visor models. The biggest deal of all, though, is on the Visor Prism, which is now $299, brought down from $399. The Visor Prism features a 65,536 color screen. You can learn more about it in Claire Pieterek's review in the November 2000 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200011/prism001.html.

Happy shopping
It's never too early to start your holiday shopping. I know. My Christmas list has been sitting in my Palm handheld's Memo Pad since June. One of these days, I'm going to have to start paying attention to it, if not to make my friends and relatives happy, then at least to bring a smile to Alan Greenspan's face.

Claire Pieterek is a long-time Palm handheld user. On a mission to ditch her Franklin Planner, she bought her first--a Pilot 5000--in May, 1996. She currently owns a Japanese-language Sony Clie 650C, a Sony Clie 710C, and a Palm Zire 71, among others. She is most at home in Chicago and Kyoto, and is a student of life, the universe, and Japanese.