Ever wonder how fast you type on your pre/pixi keyboard? You can quickly find out for free with the Two Thumbs Up Typing Test now available in the Palm application catalog. Just download the app, press the Begin Test button at the bottom of the instructions, take the one-minute test, and then view your typing speed.

To make things more interesting, Sierra Blanco Systems has teamed up with preCentral.net and webOSroundup.com to sponsor what is probably the first ever thumb-typing competition and survey. After seeing your score, please press the continue button and take a brief (seven question) survey, and then submit your typing speed and survey. It only takes an additional minute or two. After Labor Day, September 6, a random drawing of survey participants will be held. Prizes include gift certificates and webOS T-shirts. On the sponsor page there is also a discount code good for 10% off PreCentral Store purchases. In addition, the fastest typists will be invited to compete in a live (hopefully) “type-off” to see who is fastest. Prizes will be awarded to the top typists.

The date and other details of the type-off will be announced after Labor Day. SBS will also start posting survey results. You'll be able to see how your speed ranks with others. Labor Day is coming up soon, so download and take the test and survey as soon as possible.

It was a lot of hard work, but version 1.0 of the Two Thumbs Up Typing Tutor (TTUTT) is now available for purchase in the Palm Application Catalog. Our deep appreciation to the many beta testers who reviewed TTUTT and made sure it was ready for release. In order to celebrate, we want to make the introductory price as low as possible. So taking advantage of Palm's half-off sale, the price is just 50¢ until the sale ends on July 23. (TTUTT is available as an English language program in other countries, but our understanding is that half-off pricing is not valid outside the USA.) Since the sale ends in less than a week, watch the video (links are in the previous post) and buy TTUTT now.

We are almost ready to release the Two Thumbs Up Typing Tutor (TTUTT). We are waiting on Palm to release webOS 1.4.5 so we can test TTUTT on devices actually running 1.4.5 before final submission to Palm. Hopefully, TTUTT will be in Application Catalog by the 16th. Introductory pricing will be just 99 cents through the end of the month. With the half-off special, this means you should be able to get the Typing Tutor for just 50 cents. We also have a short promotional video. One version is for viewing on PCs and one version is for viewing on your smart phone.

It's official! Palm is now part of HP. Most anyone visiting our site probably already knows this, but in case you don't, here is HP's press release. You can read more about it on preCentral.net or webOSroundup.com as well as several other sites on the internet. As webOS developers, we at Sierra Blanco Systems are really excited about this acquisition and HP's public commitment to "double down" on webOS development. Many of us are also glad that they are planning to keep the Palm brand. To paraphrase ending one dynasty and beginning another, "Palm is dead, long live Palm!"

We've created a separate Twitter account just for Sierra Blanco Systems. SBSCentral was created so that you can find out when we have new releases, etc. In addition to posting a Twitter message with @SBSCentral (with a 140-character limit), you can send us a direct message through our Contact Us page or send email to support@sierrablanco.com. We'd love to hear questions, requests for new features, praise, and even bug reports and complaints. -- Greg