Palm device owners have little to complain about when it comes to webOS; not after enduring Garnet and empty Access promises for so long. Still, that OS which relies so heavily upon web technologies like HTML 5, JavaScript, and CSS can be surprisingly sluggish when compared to other smartphone OSes. Now we have a hint as to why thanks to Palm's Ben Galbraith and Dion Almae who made an interesting admission Tuesday related to the Pre's UI latency compared to the iPhone 3GS -- a phone based on the same ARM architecture. According to the duo, "the path to the GPU didn't exist" in webOS, something that will be solved in the "immediate future" using CSS transforms to modify visual elements thus freeing-up CPU cycles for other tasks. Hmm, immediate future sure sounds like a webOS update to accompany the Palm Pixi release on November 15th.

[Via Everything Pre]

Um, yikes? An unexpected (and unwanted) surprise struck some 145,000 BlackBerry users in the UAE this time last week, when an official looking prompt coerced many of the aforesaid Etisalat customers to follow through with a software update. Rather than bringing about performance enhancements, the SS8-built app enabled the carrier to keep tabs on customers' messages. According to RIM:

"Etisalat appears to have distributed a telecommunications surveillance application... independent sources have concluded that it is possible that the installed software could then enable unauthorized access to private or confidential information stored on the user's smartphone. Independent sources have concluded that the Etisalat update is not designed to improve performance of your BlackBerry Handheld, but rather to send received messages back to a central server."

Like we said, yikes. The zaniest part is that Etisalat isn't backing down, still assuring the world that the upgrades were "required for service enhancements." At any rate, RIM has made remarkably clear that the update wasn't one authorized by the company, and it's even providing an app remover for those who'd prefer their BlackBerry to be in working order and, you know, not forwarding all their email to some dude in an Etisalat supply closet. Good on you, RIM. Bad on you, Etisalat.

[Thanks, Gerald]

Read - Confirmation of spyware
Read - RIM app remover

Well, that was snappy. Just days after O2 Germany abruptly halted the sales of Toshiba's 1GHz TG01 smartphone due to an unexplained virus outbreak among new units, it seems as if things are back in gear. Online, anyway. As of this moment, web shoppers can order the Snapdragon / WinMo-powered from the carrier once more, though there's no word on if retail shops are still keeping their stock in quarantine. Either way, we'd don a mask before waltzing in to inquire.

[Thanks, Fab]

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Thursday, July 16th, 2009:

• The Samsung Omnia II will go on sale in Singapore this Saturday, July 18 for S$898 (about $619) unlocked, while the Omnia Pro will be available August 1 for something under S$550 (about $379). [Thanks, Rixter]
  
• Remember that mysterious Samsung Link for Bell? MobileSyrup has scored the lowdown on the device, and it turns out not to be a smartphone of any sort -- instead, it's just a text-centric dumbphone (isn't that theme starting to get a little played out?) with a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 2.2-inch display. It'll allegedly launch on July 30 in your choice of white or black for CAD $19.95 (about $18) on a three-year deal.
• HTC has already managed to roll a fix for that Bluetooth vulnerability they've been dogged by in recent days. [Via pocketnow.com]
• Ovi Maps 3.1, N-Gage, Ovi Contacts 2.1, and a mysterious "phone memory update" are all now available to users of North American Nokia N97s. Early reports suggest that some users are having trouble getting the goods installed successfully, so let us know how it goes.
• Continuing a trend it started earlier this year on other smartphones, Verizon has gone ahead and unlocked the GPS on its Samsung Omnia with an official firmware update. The release also includes an updated WinMo 6.1 AKU, Bluetooth tethering support through VZ Access Manager, and some memory fixes. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It's official: Nokia has a fix. It seems that a "configuration change" -- which we're assuming means a software-based setting of some sort -- was responsible for the 3G disaster on the first batch of North America-spec 5800 XpressMusics to hit the market, and the company has been able to fast-track a new firmware (not a common occurrence for those guys, but clearly, time was of the essence here). Revised units will be on sale "shortly," while existing owners are being asked to call Nokia's customer care, or alternatively, they can step into a flagship store to have their device exchanged. Too bad we can't update these things ourselves, but at least we get the pleasure of unboxing it all over again, eh? Follow the break for the full statement.

Four-thousand, five-hundred and eighteen. That gigantic number is the amount of words (if our trusty word counting robot here isn't fibbing) that details the changelog in Nokia's very first N79 update. The handset, which was just launched a few months back and only hit US hands last week, has been updated from version 10.046 to version 11.049, and boy, what an update it is. For very obvious reasons, we can't even begin to scratch the surface on the copious amount of changes included in the new release, but given that practically every possible aspect was addressed, we'd recommend downloading at your earliest convenience. Or you could read up on the changes first, but you'll probably get done around the time the N79's successor arrives on store shelves.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

Although it's running a few days behind the European update, we suppose late always trumps never when it comes to refreshed firmware. As of now, Americans can suck down v110.07.127 for their E71-2 in order to take advantage of a smattering of bug fixes. Most notably, users should see Nokia Email updates as well as "a new update to Mail For Exchange and Nokia Maps, both of which are pre-installed." As always, we'd highly recommend backing everything up before doing the deed, but if you're feeling froggy, jump.

[Via Symbian-Guru]

If you've got absolutely no complaints with your E66 or E71, you could just leave better off alone and forget that you ever read this. If you've got beef, however, we'd suggest hitting the read link pronto. Nokia has just unloaded a new firmware update for both of the aforementioned mobiles which includes new versions of Mail For Exchange and Nokia Maps. Additionally, the updates provide "a number of performance improvements including camera viewfinder orientation, Mail for Exchange synchronization and browsing." Thankfully, it seems as if the suits in Espoo took Oscar Rogers' advice to "JUST FIX IT," and, well, fixed it.

[Via AllAboutSymbian]

Whoa, boy. Cue the second wave firestorm in 3, 2, 1.... After Nokia responded to outcries from N-Gage users who were infuriated at the idea of not being able to transfer their titles between handsets, all seemed to be well. Now, however, we're finding that there's still a "one transfer policy" in effect, meaning that your games can only be ported from one handset to another one time before your world implodes. It should be noted, though, that a recent report at All About N-Gage asserts that said policy is only temporary, and that Nokia is currently working towards "a more permanent transfer method." Of course, there's no set time line for when we'll see such a thing, and it's not like the N-Gage niche as a whole is growing in leaps and bounds; in other words, you N-Gage fanatics may want to pick a handset and stay content -- you might be relying on it for awhile.

[Via All About Symbian]

In a growing effort to keep costly CSRs from spending entirely too much time trying to explain how to activate a speakerphone over the, um, phone, T-Mobile has inked a deal with Nuance Communications to bring an on-device application to select mobiles. Essentially, the Mobile Care software will rear its head whenever someone with one of the aforementioned handsets dials up customer service; from there, an "intuitive, user-friendly" guide attempts to walk users through "issues such as diagnosing and repairing configuration problems as well as with making account and billing inquiries." T-Mobile asserts that trials of the service have shown that customers actually prefer this over a live human, which probably has everything to do with the wait times that invariably come with calling a fellow Earthling. Still, we can imagine quite a few smashed phones deriving from frustrations with this computerized service, at least one of which we hope to get captured on video for posting.

[Via RCR Wireless News]

Funny story -- these guys will be one in the same here in just a few months, but until then, you'll have to pretend there's absolutely no relationship between Palm's 700p (Verizon) and 700wx (Alltel). Jibber-jabber aside, those still rockin' either Treo may be interested in sucking down what's apt to be the final ROM update for both handsets on these carriers. As predicted, Palm didn't go into great detail about what all the respective Radio Patches were, um, patching up, but you know you can't walk around without the latest and greatest on your phone. That being said, tap the links below (choose carefully!) to get your download on.

[Via PalmInfocenter]

Read - Palm 700p (Verizon) update
Read - Palm 700wx (Alltel) update

Quite a few Instinct owners were giving Samsung / Sprint one option: crank out a firmware update to show that they cared before the 30-day test period expired, or deal with all that messy RMA paperwork. Unfortunately for the aforesaid firms, the handset's first update is coming ten days after that date (at least for the earliest of adopters), and initial reports suggest that glaring problems still exist. Some users are suggesting that Sprint TV is less pixelated than before and that overall snappiness is improved, but the patently awful browser still remains at 1.0 (and thus just as awful). Look, when the change that gets most people jazzed is the battery meter's newfound ability to hit 100% (and not just 90% as in the past), something is seriously wrong. Anyone else find any nuggets of goodness in the new update?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: A bigger, more life-changing update looks to be planned -- hang tight, Instinct owners!

Unhappy G900 users will be enthused to hear Toshiba has their back and has patched the early G900 issue. As we reported a week ago, the handset wasn't waking once put in standby -- which is a huge pain, resetting a handset a dozen times a day is no fun. Sorted with a simple patch issued yesterday, users simply have to hit the Toshiba support site, download the fix, and after patching can really start putting this thing through it paces. Keep in mind, if you hard reset your device in the coming weeks and months, you will need to reapply to keep your drowsy G900 from flaking out again.

[Thanks, Paul]

Apparently, HTC's P3300 Artemis microSD-handling capabilities fall well short of its ability to look good (yeah, it's hot -- this one definitely left a lasting impression on us when we saw it at last year's Fall CTIA). Users have been reporting a variety of issues with the P3300's slot, ranging from an inability to correctly read directory structures on expansion cards all the way to data corruption. Help's on the way, though, in the form of a freshly-released update straight from HTC itself that should clear those pesky microSD woes right up. If you're into trackballs, navigation, and a Palm V-esque form factor, you probably own one of these things, so go patch 'er up, will ya?

[Via the::unwired]