01/09 Update: As expected, Palm launched today its new OS — the Palm Web OS — and Palm Pre, the first smartphone running on the new platform. The twin launch has been receiving great reviews. I’m sure you’ve read about it already, but just in case you haven’t, visit the official Palm blog for more details. Congrats, Palm!

It’s almost midnight here in Manila, Philippines, and by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, the World Wide Web would probably be full of reports and comments on the new operating system that Palm is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Earlier reports from CrunchGear and other blogs say a new “iPhone-like” device running on the new OS called Nova will also be announced at the event. “The new phone will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen,” the report says, adding that it could also play media and would of course have Palm’s calendar, email, and contact function.

I love my Palm Centro –  I got one while I training in Singapore for my new job with Yahoo! Philippines — but I wish it had WiFi capability and a better camera. It looks like “Palm’s newness” would satisfy such desires.

Mobileburn says the Palm Nova phone could also feature a high-resolution camera, which, along with Wi-Fi, is on the top of my wishlist for new features.  Hopefully, the new Palm phone would also be able to run old Palm programs and databases.

I’m one of those loyal Palm fans who would really be happy to see it on the top again with its long-overdue OS upgrade. I believe Matthew Miller of ZDNet is correct in saying there are “a ton of people that want to see Palm succeed.”

Palm is, after all, the brand that brought us the wonderful little handheld computer called PalmPilot, which eventually evolved into what I call an all-in-one device: a cellphone, personal digital assistant, alarm clock, portable MP3 and video player, digital camera, ebook reader and ‘game and watch’ rolled into one. And with the new OS, I hope Palm would resurrect Foleo.

With tomorrow’s announcement, I hope Palm could prove that it is, as I’d been insisting, “not a dying platform.” It’s Palm’s time to shine again.

If technology could help a candidate win the US presidential election, maybe it could be used in combating corruption in the Philippines. And that’s what Senator Antonio Trillanes IV hopes to do with his new bills.

Here’s the full press release:

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed two anti-corruption bills to make use of technology. He said free electronic delivery of services to the public by government agencies, with more ‘transaction windows,’ could thwart dishonest direct dealings.

A visitor posted this announcement.  I thought it’s worth sharing:

The biggest, most exciting interactive Consumer Electronics Show in the Philippines is set to open its doors on Oct. 24, Friday, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The event, dubbed Consumer Electronics Live! (CEL) Manila 2008, will feature exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services in audio, video, digital imaging, computer products, home entertainment, home appliances, mobile and wireless electronics and automotive technology.  The event aims to bring together all devices and gadgets that make life pleasurable.

Presented by T3, the country’s leading technology magazine, and in cooperation with Clear Men Formula 2.0, Consumer Electronics Live! is produced by Summit Live!, a new division of Summit Media Philippines.

“We are pleased and excited to stage the very first Consumer Electronics Live! The warm reception of the industry players shows that there is really a need for a trade exhibition designed not just to link the various sectors of the consumer electronics industry but to cater to the consumer market at the same time,” explains Maricar Parco, General Manager of Summit Live!

The Filipinos are known to be tech-savvy, wanting the latest, most advanced electronic items – from the newest mobile phones to the latest laptops. And with over 9,000 square meters of exhibit area, the market’s thirst for everything new and high–tech will definitely be satisfied.  “With several exhibitors launching new products during the exhibit, it will be the perfect time to get that newest gadget for the holidays, “ Parco adds.
Major exhibitors expected to unveil new products and services are Apple/Senco, Canon, HP, LG Electronics, Nokia, Samsung and Sony.  There will also be displays from Bose, Creative, Fuji Xerox, JBL, Myphone, Sennheiser and Western Digital.

Visit www.celmanila.com for more details on Consumer Electronic Live! For media inquiries, please contact 0922-8334899.

For more information, contact:
Tere de Jesus Garcia
0922-833-4899

A press release from TXTPower, of which this blogger is a member:

Consumer group TXTPower today rejected the proposed 20-centavo text tax pushed by Senator Richard J. Gordon and Speaker Prospero Nograles and supported by Malacanang, calling the proposal “an insult to the intelligence of the people and a slap in the face of people in the midst of crisis.”

“All calls and text messages are already charged 12 percent VAT. Overseas calls are also slapped an overseas communications tax. If we have ‘double-insertion’ in projects, this Gordon-Nograles-Arroyo tax is ‘double taxation’,” said TXTPower president Anthony Ian Cruz.

“If the Gordon-Nograles-Arroyo really want to raise the budget for education and health, they could do so by allocating appropriate amounts in the national budget. But they don’t. They want to pay fraudulent foreign debt, engage in unproductive expenditures and let corrupt people remain in government,” said Cruz.

TXTPower is advocating the reduction of foreign debt payments and rechanneling the amount to social services such as health and education.

The group is also pushing for increased tax collection and the firing of corrupt revenue and customs officials.

“Gordon should oppose the plan to build a new Senate building and instead allocate the money for schoolbuildings. The pork barrel of all legislators should be reduced by half and all proceeds should go to improving hospitals in the local levels,” said Cruz.

International studies claim that 20 percent of the annual Philippine budget go to waste due to corruption.