Shape Services have released a new version of their Palm OS multi-service instant messaging application. IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger now combines six IM service providers in one application. IM+ now supports AOL IM, Yahoo, Google Talk, MSN Live/Messenger, ICQ and Jabber. Key features include SSL support, full presence status support, groups, detailed contact info, configurable sound and vibra notifications, 5-way support and background operation for use while in other apps.

IM+ All-in-One Mobile Messenger v3.0 comes with a full featured seven day free trial. It costs $29.95 if you decide to keep it. It is compatible with most devices running Palm OS 5 and above.

Palm and MobiTV invite filmmakers to submit their funniest made-for-mobile films to compete in the first Treo Mobile Comedy Film Festival. Deadline for entry is Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and John Henson (TV Guide Network and Talk Soup) are co-hosting the festival. Penn & Teller and Adam Ferrara (The Job, Rescue Me) will also be on the panel of judges. The festival is being held at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is Los Angeles on October 18th.

DataViz CEO Dick Fontana has posted a (very) brief statement regarding the Foleo cancellation on their Office Mobility blog. In short, they're taking this one on the chin:

"Palm has been a valued partner of ours for over ten years and we have been involved with Foleo for over three of them. As such, we have put a great deal of effort into building a Linux-based Documents To Go for the Foleo project. We see this Linux project as a necessary step in our journey and partnership with Palm. The decision to cancel the launch of Foleo is something that comes with the territory. It is a necessary bump in an otherwise great journey, and bodes well for Palm as it indicates they have tighter focus and better opportunities calling.”

First known by its internal codename 'Hollywood', the Treo 750 is Palm’s second Windows Mobile device. It was officially announced back in September '06 in collaboration with Vodafone, one of the world’s biggest and best-known carriers. The device broke new ground for the company on several different fronts: it was Palm’s first serious push to broaden its international install base, and was heavily marketed with contributions from both Microsoft and carrier partners. It was their first 3G UMTS device, filling a gap that creaky ol' Palm OS Garnet is technically incapable of covering. And it marked the debut of the Treo’s now-standard slimmer, antenna-free form factor. Premiering exclusively on networks across several European countries, you can now find the Treo 750 on 3G carriers worldwide, from the desert backwaters of Australia all the way through to the U.S. of A.

Alrighty then. History lesson over! Let’s get to work. Is it a decent smartphone or not? Grab a gun, develop a bad attitude and start the dramatically ticking clock as we go Jack Bauer on the Treo 750 with PIC's in-depth review...

iambic software has released version 2.0 of its Propel launcher application for Palm OS. Propel is a multifunctional launcher replacement that supports launching apps, finding contacts, appoitments, memos, web bookmarks, digital audio and even files stored on a memory card. It also offers enhanced features including a toolbar, tabbed categories, background wallpapers and a favorites list. The professional version also offers voice dialing and app launching as well as mp3 capabilities. v2.0 includes a large amount of new features and improvements including a new "glassy" default skin, SD card shortcuts, new plug-in functionality, redesigned prefs, left handed support and much more.

Propel Professional edition retails for $24.95 and comes with a free trial version. A standard edition, without voice-dialing and mp3 features, is available for $14.95.

The PalmInfocenter store has expanded to offer Windows Mobile Standard (aka Smartphone edition) software in order to accommodate the new Treo 500 series. You can expect the same high quality service, easy to use design, simple purchasing system and free downloads and specials the PalmInfocenter store is known for.

We already have a large catalogue of some of the most popular titles including: CorePlayer for Smartphone, SmartphoneNotes, SplashID and much more.

Good news, 680 & 755p owners! Metaviewsoft has updated their excellent Palm OS ports of id Software's classic first-person shooters Doom, Quake, Heretic and Hexen with full keyboard and rumble support. In case you were living under a rock in the 1990's, these games defined the modern-day first person shooter with their advanced graphics and superior level design. Not to mention Doom's infamous array of awesomely violent parent-horrifying weapons like the shotgun, BFG9000 and chainsaw...

Performance is unchanged from previous versions: Doom, Heretic and Hexen run smooth as silk, but the fully-3D Quake is a little jerky (though still very playable). The ports are extremely well-done and have full support for Bluetooth gamepads and keyboards. You can even hold multiplayer deathmatches (or play co-operatively, if you're a pansy) via Bluetooth or over the Internet with other Palm OS devices.

Another interesting report from Taiwanese industry trade journal Digitimes has just been posted concerning the growing importance of integrated GPS functionality within global smartphone market. While not Palm-specific in nature, the article does seem to be soundly researched and Palm's absence from the list of major handset vendors who currently have or are working on GPS smartphone functionality is quite telling. Even GPS-specific firms such as TomTom and Garmin are listed as possibly working in conjunction with the large Taiwanese ODMs to release "GPS PDA phones in 2007".

One possibility is that Palm could be secretly collaborating with either TomTom or Garmin for a co-branded device to be produced by one of Palm’s Taiwanese ODMs. Both TomTom and Garmin have at least some historical connection to the Palm companies, so there would be some merit in a potential partnership.

In an intriguing article published by the UK's Guardian newspaper, Palm’s CEO, Ed Colligan, admits in an interview this week that “it will be 12 to 18 months” before a Palm smartphone running a Linux-based OS appears. This information, while slightly contradictory to earlier reports, is nevertheless a sign that all may not be well with Palm's in-house OS developmental efforts.

The guardian article, while offering little in the way of new information, does a solid job of providing a nutshell summary of the myriad of reasons leading to Palm’s current doldrums, such as the aging Garnet OS architecture, reduced revenue and consolidation in the PDA market, and the lack of differentiation amongst the Treo line in the face of increasingly fierce competition.

Digitimes has just posted a report claiming that Inventec Appliances is producing Palm’s latest smartphone, the Treo 500v. The Treo 500v is notable for a slew of "firsts" for Palm: first Treo to ship with Windows Mobile 6 standard, first with Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2.0 megapixel camera and Palm's first device released without a touchscreen LCD. An earlier report this week also indicted that Inventec also got the contract to product the upcoming Palm Centro.

Digitimes also comments that Palm is shifting its focus away from HTC who has become quite a competitor to Palm with a strong line of HTC-branded handsets running on a variety of networks and carriers. Inventec's previous order with Palm was for last fall's Garnet-based Treo 680, which by being references only in the past tense in the article, may indicate that particular model is facing EOL sometime in the near future.

Sammy McLoughlin of PalmAddicts fame has posted a PATV video to YouTube showing the new Treo 500v in action. In the nearly 8-minute long video, Sammy puts Palm’s latest Treo smartphone through quite a workout, starting with an informal unboxing of the unit and continuing to a physical overview and demonstrating the unit in action. The Palm/Vodafone co-branded packaging appears a bit more colorful and funky in appearance than Palm’s traditionally conservative packaging. Sammy performs his impromptu hands-on piece from a noisy coffee shop but nevertheless manages to give a nice tour of the device and highlights its surprisingly thin formfactor.