Making handheld computers and phones more useful. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. Great new PDAs and wireless phones are coming out all the time... but there is always a way to make them just a little bit better. When it comes to Palm computers, for instance, a company called Chapura has been making software that syncs the data with Microsoft's Outlook. The basic version of PocketMirror has been bundled with Palm devices for about three years. And Chief Operating Officer Keith Ellenberg says a professional version adds even more functionality...

"Our professional version includes the Chapura Calendar which has category support if you want to manage multiple calendars on your handheld. PocketMirror 3.1 Professional maintains the linkage between the category on the handheld and the folder in Outlook which contains the information that you're trying to keep track of.

Palm users can upgrade to the professional version of PocketMirror for about 25 dollars. For a while now handheld users have been able to add Stowaway folding keyboards developed by a company called Think Outside to their devices. Now you can add the convenience to Java enabled Motorola wireless phones running on Nextel's network. Nextel's Diane Rainey...

"Many people have been familiar with the similar keyboard that they've been hooking up to their PDAs, but now you can hook it up to your phone and do all kinds of things you could do on your computer. Things like sending email through the Web. It's really almost taking the place of a laptop in a way.

The iBoard sells for about 99 dollars. Motorola has another phone out with a built in thumb operated keyboard. But with its pager shape the V200 is more suited for text messaging than for talking, unless you have a headphone constantly connected. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.