Palm operating system question: Is there a way that the SD card on my
kycera smartphone can be accessed through the USB port on my laptop?
In other words I would like the SD card to been seen as a drive in
Windows Explorer.

To do that check out Sandisks Cruzer.  NOT the MINI-Cruzer just the
regular old Cruzer.

There are USB SD card readers you can buy so you would but the SD
memory card into the reader which is plugged into the computer via the
USB port.  Below are a few you might consider:

1. Name: USB MMC/SD Reader  
   Manufacture: Lexar Media Inc.
   Part Number: RW014001
      
   Price:  $13.37  at TheNerds.net 
http://www.thenerds.net/productpage.asp?un=146388&s=1

   Price:  $13.61  at 2BuyStore.com 
http://www.2buystore.com/shopdisplaydetail.asp?id=352394
 
   Price:  $14.99  at Ecost.com 
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?action=detail&dpno=412124#scroll
                   also at MacMall
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=412124&options=T
                   also at PCMall
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=412124&options=T

   Price: $15.96 at HP http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product.asp?sku=2262134

2. Name: PNY Single Slot Card Reader memory USB adapter - flash : SD memory card
   Manufacturer: PNY Technologies Inc.
   Part Number: P-SDMC-USB-PB 
 
   Price:  $14.99 at Circuit City
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-11467&qp=0&bookmark=bookmark_1&oid=70118

   Price: $20.55 Mwave.com  http://www.mwave.com/mwave/Spec1/1015765.html

Let me make it clear. I am not looking to use the SD card like a
floppy. I already know how to remove the SD from my palm device and
utilize a PCMCIA adapter to access the SD on my laptop. What I want to
do is connect to the SD onboard the palm device through the normal USB
synch cable to my laptop. I want to go one better than flopping the SD
in and out of my Palm.

redwoodk-ga:

I've held off on posting a comment to your question in the hopes that
a fellow Researcher would come across some information that would be
of use to you. As that has not happened in the five days since you
posted your question, I will post this comment after all.

As you already know, your Kyocera Smartphone runs the Palm OS. The
Palm OS is very different from the Windows operating system. One of
the key differences is the lack of support for any networking-type
interaction. The basic premise of all Palm applications is to operate
on a local set of data, with periodic manually-activated
synchronization of the local data with a remote dataset stored on a
host system.

Because of this approach, the SD card in your Kyocera Smartphone
cannot be seen as a drive through the USB port of your
Windows-equipped laptop. The USB connection itself is controlled by
the HotSync Manager API; neither HotSync Manager, nor PalmOS, are
currently capable of supporting the type of functionality you are
seeking.

A device running the Microsoft Pocket PC operating system, however,
would be able to support a similar capability, through a network
connection to a host PC.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

Good news Redwoodk!
It is possible to do what you want:
These commercial programs let you use your Palm device as a card reader:
- Card Export by Softick (needs Windows 2000 or XP) at http://www.softick.com/ 
- SyncWizard by Envi.con http://envicon.com/SyncWizard/
- Total Commander at http://www.ghisler.com/index.htm , combined with
the freeware 'serial plugin' at http://www.ghisler.com/serial.htm

Freeware alternatives that are worth a look:
- PalmDisk (freeware) by Keith Miller at
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/supercomputer.lab/
- PalmDisk (freeware) by Paolo Rebordao (another program with the same
name) http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&prodid=48967
- PFB (Freeware) by Mathias Lüdtke at http://www.pmrogan.de/site/PalmSoft.htm

pey-ga Thank you very much! I downloaded a copy of Softick and it works perfectly.