Palm has announced the upcoming availability of the Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition operating system update for Palm Treo 750 smartphone customers in Australia. Hutchison 3 customers in Australia can now download the free update. The Treo 750/750v Updater 2.19 includes Windows Mobile 6 and a number of other enhancements including improved calendar management, enhance email messaging, voice command via bluetooth and usb cable charging.

The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania has posted an interesting article on the differing approaches of mobile technology companies. Earlier this summer they had another article on the Foleo announcement, which spawned a good debate here. This most recent article takes on the merits and motivations behind having open or closed development approach to products. The author cites a number of recent and past examples including Palm and Apple.

In building walled gardens with its devices, Apple is making a calculated gamble that it can delight consumers enough that they won't opt for products and services that offer more flexibility, says Kendall Whitehouse, Wharton's senior director for information technology. In contrast, firms that take a more flexible approach are often said to be employing what could be called an "open-plain" or "open-architecture" strategy. They are betting that, by allowing their offerings to be extended or customized by others, they will encourage the growth of an "ecosystem" of complementary products and services, thus increasing the size and value of the market for everyone.

Toysoft has released a new Treo utility. SMSPager is designed to replace the traditional pager. It features a simple easy to use design that lets you define custom filters for all the senders that you wish to receive text messages from. Messages that SMSPager does not receive they will be passed to the default Messaging application or you can assign SMSPager to receive all the text messages. Each custom filter you design can have a unique picture or audible notification.

SMSPager is compatible with the Treo 600/650/680/700p/755. It comes with a free trial period and costs $14.95 to register. It is currently on sale for $9.95 for a limited time.

WLink is a new Palm OS utility from Megasoft2000. It is a wireless manager that allows you to use all communication facilities of your device for file and data transfers. The program includes a file browser that allows you to transfer and exchange any set of files or folders from your device. It supports FTP servers, Bluetooth (OBEX), Ir, WiFI, CIFS local network support all over an Internet or cellular connection.

WLink is compatible with Palm OS 5 or greater. It includes a free trial version and sells for $19.95.

The UN Dispatch blog has a new article entitled "How PDAs Are Saving Lives in Africa." The author describes how PDAs (namely Palm Zire's) are being utilized in a heath care program in Zambia. The year-old pilot program, is replacing paper-based health surveys with electronic data collection via handhelds. It combines local PDA training with open-source software to place effective health data-gathering tools in the hands of country health officials. The author describes how he came up with the solution and how it is being used in the field. (via Slashdot)

Gx5's Treo optimized weather application, TreoWeather, has just been updated. The software can display current weather conditions and forecasts for an unlimited amount of custom locations. It features user selectable wallpaper images, custom fonts and overlays. The new version now includes automatic weather updates.

TreoWeather v1.0.3.3 is available now with a free trial period. It costs $9.95 USD to register. It is compatible with the Treo 650, 680, 700p and 755p.

NorthGlide has released updates for each of its NeatFreak pack bundles. The NeatFreak Pack for Palm OS comes in three versions, Ultimate, Plus and standard. The Ultimate version includes four applications designed to keep your PDA or smartphone clean and in good shape. The bundle includes Uninstall Manager, a Cleanup application that deletes rogue files, OnGuard Backup and NorthGlide Undo.

NeatFreak Pack Ultimate v4.02 sells for $31.95, while the Plus and Pack versions sell for $26.95 and $19.95 respectively. Most of the apps are also available individually.

PDAFrance has posted a series of possible shots of the Palm Centro. The white colored model seen in this new set of images, match the previously leaked photos seen on PIC. The white Centro is displayed running Palm OS Garnet on the Orange network (GSM) in France.

Palm has previously confirmed that the Centro will debut in the US on Sprint and will feature a new, smaller form-factor, EVDO high speed data and a touch screen display. A separate leaked image of the Centro showed a Black and Sliver model with Sprint branding. A recent rumor report has indicated the Centro could be released by Sprint around October 14th.

Palm has filled a regulatory statement with the SEC that reveals a few upcoming changes on Palm's sitting board of directors. Palm says that Scott Mercer has decided to remain on the board following the closing of the recapitalization transaction with Elevation Partners. Originally Mercer intended to resign along with current chair, Eric Benhamou, following the close of the deal.

Current member Bruce Dunlevie has announced his intention to resign at the close of the Elevation deal. Mr. Dunlevie had served as a director of Handspring since October 1998 and is a Managing Member of Benchmark Capital. Dunlevie also serves on the board of Numenta, Jeff Hawkins' brain theory technology company.

Palm CEO Ed Colligan has posted a letter to Palm Customers, Partners and Developers on the official Palm blog. In the post, he states Palm will cancel the Foleo mobile companion product in its current configuration, and will undertake efforts to focus entirely on Palm's next-generation smartphone platform.

The recent discounting trend of Palm handhelds reported last month continues in full force. The Best Buy retail circular for September 3rd-10th shows both the Palm TX and E2 handhelds offered at considerable savings from their standard retail prices.

For this week's sale pricing, the Palm TX is offered at a price of $249.99, a full $65 instant discount from the standard Best Buy price of $314.99. The Palm TX is most commonly seen with an MSRP of $299.99. This week's TX sale surpasses Best Buy’s previous offer, as most users will find a sizable $65 instant discount more appealing than a mere $15 price drop and a free 2GB SD card. The older Palm Tungsten E2 handheld is on sale for $149.99, a full $60 discount off of the standard $209.99 Best Buy price.