Mobile Tech News -- Treo 755p Update, Free Astraware Software, GoogleTalk for iPhone

Palm Releases System "Tune-Up" for Verizon's Treo 755p

A small system software update has been released for the version of the Palm Treo 755p that's offered by Verizon. According to Palm "This software update is a tune-up that improves the phone application, stability and device usability."

This free update can be found on Palm's website.

Astraware Celebrating with Free Software

Astraware is now giving away two applications: Fireworks and Big Box of Blox

To celebrate Independence Day in the U.S., Astraware's Fireworks is available again for a limited time at no cost. This application shows shows sequences of fireworks flying and exploding in front of  a selection of patriotic backgrounds including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Stars and Stripes. It offers a choice of tunes including the Star Spangled Banner and Stars and Stripes Forever.

It is available for Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and this year a new BlackBerry version is being added. This includes everything the other versions do except the music.

In addition, this company has released Big Box of Blox for smartphones running Symbian S60, and to celebrate it's giving all versions of this game away to Club Astraware members during July.

This is block-stacking game with a twist. Players arrange the three-blox-high stacks as they fall. Match blox in groups of three or more, vertically or horizontally, to eliminate them before the stack reaches the top... but it doesn't end there. Players don't just stack the blox. They smash them, blast them, or explode them with special blox including jokers, bombs, frogs, mushrooms, fireballs, and slot machines.

Non-members can join Club Astraware for free, or they can purchase Big Box of Blox for Symbian S60, Palm OS or Windows Mobile for $9.95.

To download either of these software titles, visit Astraware's website.

GoogleTalk for iPhone Updated

Google has just released in the U.S. a new web-based version of Google Talk designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch browsers. This allows users to exchange instant messages with their friends, family, or co-workers.

To use this free service, go to www.google.com/talk in the iPhone browser. Google Talk runs entirely in the browser so there's no need to download or install anything.