Just in time for the holiday season and drinks for toasting the New Year comes a handy gadget iPod and iPhone users may find useful.

The iBreath Alcohol Breathalyzer, from the David Steel, lets users assess their intoxication level with a few simple steps.

Company founder, and iBreath inventor, Don Bassler explained that the idea came long before the iPhone arrived in June 2007.

He was sitting poolside two years ago with a friend and the friend had bought his son a breathalyzer to use on prom night.

Bassler said his friend became a bit annoyed as the teen then put on his iPod and said he wished there was some way to communicate to him through his iPod.

The two issues clicked for Bassler, an admitted Apple loyalist.

Soon after he had a prototype and images up online and even some premature media coverage.

The problem was there was no actual product to sell until last week, when, after Apple's blessing, he launched the iBreath.

Business has been brisk, he said.

"Our stance is that no one should drink and get in a car," said Bassler.

But people do it every day and Bassler hopes his tool it will save lives.

The 47-year-old, who's been in product sales since his college days, said the price of $79 is much cheaper than the costs associated with a drinking and driving conviction, and certainly a small price for avoiding killing someone while drinking and driving.

In California, he noted, breaking the DWI law can end up costing upwards about $8,000 in legal fees, fines and other related costs.

Bassler is looking to develop a similar tool for the BlackBerry down the road, as well as other iPod accessories.

Palm fans must be tickled pink today with the launch of Palm's Software Store, a new online application download center that's stocked with 5,000 applications for over 25 Palm devices.

Neatly organized by device and by application category the software hub seemed to appear out of the blue today.

It's clear Palm realizes that mobile applications are key to handset success -- it is one aspect that's kept the struggling handset maker afloat in the competitive smartphone market.

And now, with the storefront, Palm's aware that building loyalty and user base means putting good, fun and valuable applications out in an easy-to-grab fashion (aka Apple's App store approach) is a necessity.

Stay tuned as we'll explore the store, Palm's strategy and what analysts have to say about it all on InternetNews.com on Wednesday.

Heads up to all those who think Sprint isn't serious about Android and the idea of open platform development.

The number three wireless carrier is, even if the blogsphere seems bent on saying it's not so.

Last week Sprint debuted a brand-new open mobile platform called Titan.

Yet that hasn't squelched the chatter that Sprint isn't behind Android.

Many bloggers and tech news sites seem to think that a quick comment from CEO Dan Hesse about future Android phones means no Android phones.

So I called Sprint today to find out what its commitment is to Android. The response came quick:

* Sprint is engaged with Android -- no need to question our commitment.

Thanks for the opportunity to share our perspective

Sprint is actively engaged with the Android community; for competitive reasons, we have not been specific about the timing of an Android phone from Sprint.

Sprint is a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance.

Sprint has a long history of leadership in working closely with developers to encourage them to create new content that can be offered on Sprint phones. The Titan platform is an example of Sprint's work with the developer community. Our participation in the OHA and our work with the Android community is another example. *

So there it is. End of the story. Or should I say end of a non-story?

A story this morning at Forbes.com caught my eye as it has to do with Sprint, the number three wireless carrier struggling to stay in the race with AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

The story notes that Sprint is closing call centers, and may give the impression that the move is primarily tied to the carrier's loss in subscriber base.

After all, fewer customers means less needed support right?

Yes, Sprint has lost customers. There is no denying that fact. But then again CEO Dan Hesse has put great emphasis this year on improving the customer experience.

That means happier customers from the get-go. Happier customers mean less complaint calls and less need for customer service agents after the initial sign-up event.

In fact, Hesse mentioned in a recent earnings call that Sprint was closing support centers specifically because customer service has improved.

Closing centers that aren't needed saves money and a smart move. Cash is king in this economy.

But closing centers isn't always an indicator that things are getting worse.

It could mean Sprint just has happier customers these days.

Just last month, we reported that Apple iPhone users hit the 200 million downloads mark during October, when they were able to choose from among 5,500 free and paid applications available at the App store. That was just five months after the storefront opened.

Now, only 36 days later, those numbers have reached new heights: There are supposedly 10,000 applications for the iPhone and users have downloaded a total of 300M apps.

Seems pretty incredible, doesn't it?

The numbers were reported by tech outlets citing Apple print ads in the New York Times. I put a call into Apple to confirm; no word yet if they're correct or a misprint.

Let's do the math (especially since it doesn't involve calculus):

Five months @ 200M downloads averages to 40M downloads a month.
Five months @ 5,500 apps averages 1,100 applications a month

But the next five weeks saw 100M more downloads and 5,000 more apps.

I mean, I know iPhone users are fun people. They love the gadget. But 100 million more downloads in just over a month? And a doubling of the available iPhone software offerings?

Yes, I'm skeptical by profession. It's a handy personality quirk in this trade. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some glitch or misprint. It happens.

But then again, I won't be surprised if the numbers are on target.

Either way, iPhone mania isn't ebbing anytime soon.

Apple just released a list of the top free and paid applications for the iPhone.

It's not surprising most are entertainment-focused.

The iPhone, after all, was built for fun.

Here's a short list of what's most popular -- full list is here.

Top Free Include:

Pandora Radio

Tap Tap Revenge

Labryinthe Lite

Google Earth

AIM

Top Paid Include:

Koi Pond

Texas Hold'em

Moto Chaser

Super Monkey Ball

Cro-Mag Rally

Pocket Guitar

and of course .................... iBeer