The iPod has given Apple CEO Steve Jobs plenty to smile about, regardless of how many unauthorized bios of his father are being tossed by unethical journalists, according to a strange AppleInsider story.

The iPod is the handheld heavyweight wrestling champion at the moment, given the recent Blackberry patent troubles that have been occupying the news recently.

In other iPod related news, AppleInsider also asserts that QuickTime Pro licenses are selling like hotcakes for both the Windows and MAC OS.

These software license sales are trailing the iPod video and nano players' sales respectively; they've proven to be the most popular items in the Apple stock at the moment.

Apparently, video iPod sales have been taking off since I first spoke of the video iPod market entry in an earlier news blog entry.

It looks as if iPod shuffle sales are also still going strong.

Given that worldwide handheld device shipments are down for the seventh consecutive quarter, things are not as comparably rosy for Pocket PC and Palm owners.

One aspect of the whole handheld mess that is proving expedient for we PDA advocates is the blistering rate of technological advancement.

New products like the new Palm smartphone complete with Windows Mobile round out this confusing, yet welcome, picture.

Of course, given the Pocket PC game developer penchant to produce for the OS du jour, it looks like Windows Mobile is the toughest neighbourhood bully to beat.

It's been repeated ad nauseum by forum lurkers that Windows Mobile and not the Palm OS will prove to be the epicenter for a new wave of gaming goodness.

This may not be far wrong, judging from the quality Pocket PC games that are available in abundance. We'll see what the future holds.

Damian Julien is a Pocket PC gaming authority and long time general gaming hobbyist and reviewer.

He is an IT specialist by trade and has posted numerous articles on Pocket PC emulators, gaming and trends in the industry.

http://www.pdagameguide.com/