Sony pushes the limits of the Palm again. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. Sony continues to go its own way with its Clie' line of Palm handhelds... ..and the latest models arriving soon include a faster 200 MHz processor and wireless networking capability. They have the same sleek look and top notch fold over color screen as Sony's previous top of the line Clie'... .but the new models add a Compact Flash expansion slot... designed exclusively for an 802.11b wireless network card. Wireless product manager Liz Eller...

"This is a Compact Flash form factor. But we've put the slot in here to be a communications slot, not a general Compact Flash slot."

You have to suspect that Sony is limiting the usability of the expansion slot... .because of its emphasis on its Memory Stick cards. The Clie' has a Memory Stick slot as well. The new models will sell for about 500 dollars ... .and 600 for one with a built in camera. Product manager Ty Takayanagi...

"You can simply take a picture by pressing the button which is located on the hinge. And we have a new user interface where you can see the thumbnail images of the pictures that you've taken in the past. And one additional improvement, which was not available in the previous model is the ability to take MPEG 4 movies."

Sony's styling is a big selling point. It helped the company recently move into the number two position in retail handheld sales... .according to NPD Techworld. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin