If niche marketing is on the agenda, then Al Gore has already laid the groundwork for an appeal to the all-important Palm computing vote. A Palm device user himself, Gore is the first, and at the moment, the only presidential candidate in history to have his own mobile, handheld news channel. In fact, this distinction has already made him a winner, as his official Web site, AlGore.com, has been voted October's PalmPower Site of the Month.

The Gore Mobile Edition, as it's termed, can be found at http://www.algore.com/pda/. The site is pictured in Figure A.

FIGURE A


You can find the Gore Mobile Edition at AlGore.com. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Now, inevitably, all of you are not necessarily going to be Gore supporters. However, as PDA users, we can all appreciate, like the first televised election debate, the historic significance of Gore's mobile channel. Its use as a campaign tool is just one more example of the Palm organizer's acceptance into mainstream culture, and it's valuable to see just what's being done with it.

Handheld Campaign HQ
Once you enter, you arrive at the channel's news page and menu. You can check out press releases from the Gore campaign, get a detailed run-down of where Gore stands on the issues, find out how to get involved in the campaign, or take a look at a snapshot from the Gore 2000 HQ Cam. The introductory screen of the Gore 2000 Handheld Headquarters is pictured in Figure B.

FIGURE B

AlGore.com for AvantGo keeps you up-to-date on the Vice President's campaign.

Gore's strength right now seems to be his emphasis on the issues, in marked contrast to his rival, so the most valuable feature of the AlGore.com channel is the ability to get a definitive statement on Gore's beliefs on every topic imaginable. Figure C shows an excerpt from Gore's stance on technology.

FIGURE C

Though Gore didn't invent the Internet, he does want to improve it.