Palm’s Latest PDA to Hit Store Shelves

A long-awaited wireless handheld from Palm Inc. is set to hit store shelves today, giving the world’s leading PDA maker a new weapon in its fight against encroaching competitors.

The new i705 personal digital assistant has a built-in antenna for wireless Web access and secure, “always on” access to e-mail and instant messages via its Palm.net service. The device is a replacement to bulkier Palm VII models that did not have as many features.

The $449 device is targeted at the lucrative and growing corporate customer market.