Palm has finally released a beta version of the Palm Desktop software for Windows Vista users.

Bearing Microsoft's "Works With Windows Vista" certification branding, Palm Desktop v6.2 is essentially just a Vista-compliant version of the previous version of Palm Desktop for Windows.

Aside from the "Works with Windows Vista" compatibility guarantee, this new version 6.2 beta comes with:

* Palm Desktop 6.2 and HotSync Manager 7

* Install Tool to sync .prc and .pdb files. Do note that Palm's Quick Install tool is NOT present in this beta release.

* Outlook 2007 synchronization for Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes.

* Windows Vista compatible: Has earned Microsoft's "Works with Windows Vista" designation.

Aside from the handy Quick Install feature, this version also omits tethered VersaMail synchronization. With the rise in popularity of Treos with wireless conectivity, most users nowadays download VersaMail e-mails directly to their devices and bypass desktop VersaMail synchronization entirely.

As expected, Palm has guaranteed only a small handful of Garnet OS devices to run under this new 6.2 version of the Palm Desktop. Palm's handful of remaining PDA models (Z22, E2, TX) are on the compatibile device list, along with the Treo 650, 680, 700p, and 755p.

Most alarming in the list of unsupported devices is the LifeDrive Mobile Manager. The LifeDrive was released in May 2005 (after the release dates of the Treo 650 and the Tungsten E2 which are supported) and the Tungsten T5, released alongside the Treo 650 in October 2004.

Emphasis mine.... How Palm could have even allowed themselves to fall behind enough that their desktop was not ready in time for Vistas launch. is staggering.... The fact that they would now launch a version that does not support their most expensive PDA product, is ridiculous....

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