The latest update of the Palm Pre OS did not bring video recording. While those who went for the huge 100+ MB firmware might have been disappointed that the camera still does not take videos (and Palm, why?!), some crafty developers have made their own fix.

There’s a sample video upload and a review of the app already if you have not heard of this interesting development yet.

The application allows the Pre to capture 480 x 320 pixel videos at a good 30 frames per second (and most phones get 15 FPS VGA). The format for saving can be set to MPEG, H.264 or H.263. The best part is that the application allows for the use of the LED light for recording videos (battery killer or not?).

The platform used by the Palm Pre is similar to the one used in the Omnia HD, iPhone 3GS and the N900, making this device perfect for taking good quality videos. Still, this development shows how much is lacking in terms of the Pre’s features. Palm can easily make an official feature as demonstrated by this application; the only real question now is why Palm has not included the function yet.

On the lighter side of news, this is an excellent testament to the importance of having good 3rd party developers making apps for devices. Be it paid apps or free downloads, applications for major platforms are the key to increasing the function and capability of a device. Also, apps allow users to customize the mobile phone experience, the lack of access to applications (such as the old Windows Mobile problem –no app store) tends to restrict or limit a device.

The video recorder application was created just recently and is still in the alpha version. Expect bugs on this app if you plan on using on your Pre, though so far, it has been working pretty well for most people.

The Palm Pre is considered to be Palm’s best device as of late and the cheeky little smart phone is getting a third update for its Palm WebOS. This comes as a mild bit of surprise as the device has only been out for two months.

The new Web OS update is version 1.3.1 and will now allow users to connect their device to Yahoo! and LinkedIn. The new service will literally synchronize the contacts phone book and the phone calendar with your Yahoo! and LinkedIn accounts.

Aside from the Yahoo! and LinkedIn features, the update also enhances Palm’s email capabilities. New shortcuts have been added to allow users to easily filter through existing messages, copy and paste entire paragraphs, and text to email forwarding options.

That, of course, is the nice new “added feature” that is bannered on top of the update. In general, the 1.3.1 update does more than add another form of online synchronization to your mobile phone.

In fact, the real purpose of this new update streamlines many phone functions. There are now tweaks for the storing of information and cooking when browsing the web. Also affected in the update is the Bluetooth function that has been updated for better compatibility. The update also now adds a few new functions to the calendar, the camera, clock, and the contacts list. There are other details in this update that are outlined in the official Palm website.

The Palm Pre originally came out as a great smart phone, with this newest set of updates, it is clear that developers are listening to many of the comments people have about the device. The camera’s thumbnail now behaves in a more intuitive manner than the first when tapped. It is this type of update that truly shows how well a device can adapt to its users.

It is what everyone currently caught up in the “to buy, or not to buy, that is thy question” dilemma wants to know, and the fact is that yes – it has managed to live up to the incredibly amount of hype placed on it from its conception.

The Palm Pre’s touch screen is definitely one of the biggest high points here. It is capacitive, the same as the iPhone, and it is able to register the lightest of taps, swipes, drags and multiple touches, as well as being impressively accurate and responsive. The actual screen size is a reasonable 3.1 inches and sports a 320 x 480 pixel resolution, below which is a “gesture area”, letting you launch and quite apps with a single swipe – another very cool function.

We were also impressed that the Palm Pre is not only smaller than the iPhone, but that the very round shape seems to fit perfectly in your hand. By pressing the display upwards with your thumb, you can easily slide out the full QWERTY keyboard – and while the style of this keyboard doesn’t exactly fit the style of the Palm Pre, it is certainly better than being forced to use a touch screen to type; we feel it’s the best of both worlds.

The other feature we really enjoyed was the multi touch zoom functionality that up until now only the iPhone has been able to master – it makes web browsing feel much more comfortable. Another feature that the original iPhone didn’t have, (although has now been added,) that we love, is the ability to copy and paste text.

There are of course a whole host of other features, but we have reported on those previously – the real question is whether or not the Palm Pre lives up to the hype, and the answer is yes, and then some.

Things have never looked brighter for Sunnyvale based mobile phone manufacturer Palm. The company has already announced their plans of launching their latest smartphone, the highly sought after Palm Pre, in the European market – and as many of you will already be aware of, the handset is set to arrive in the UK on the O2 network come October the 16th, and it looks as though the device may become one of the most popular handsets around.

According to a recent survey conducted by TNS, almost 26% of mobile phone users in the United Kingdom would be interested in buying the Palm Pre – these individuals are either going to purchase the handset from O2, or are at least considering it as an option. The 26% interested in the Palm Pre over shadows the 16% of users interested in the iPhone back in a 2007 survey.

The Apple iPhone is at the top of the list when it comes to user satisfaction, however it now seems that the new Palm Pre could see an even higher demand in the UK than the Apple device saw, which would really be something – we love the iPhone, but I think a lot of us are waiting for the day there is another mobile phone to rival it.

Going by the TNS survey, 27% of O2’s customers have some level of interest in buying a Palm Pre, which is far greater than the 17% of O2 customers who expressed an interest in buying an iPhone when it first hit shelves.

At the end of the day, the Palm Pre looks set to be significantly more popular in the UK than the US, and with any luck it could be the next must have device.

As of Monday, the 5^th of October this year, if you own a Palm Pre mobile phone you will be able to buy applications from the Palm App Catalogue. The move had been rumoured for the last couple of weeks and was finally announced a few days ago – although we have heard that there were some initial problems with the new service.

Various internet news websites have reported that Palm was forced to pull the paid applications almost immediately after launch because of a critical security bug, which was discovered thanks the guys from webOS-internals. Luckily, the issue has now been fixed and you can safely buy apps from the storefront. Reportedly the bug was unrelated to the credit card information users had to supply, which is obviously good news for a lot of you.

Paid application for Palm’s webOS system can be submitted to the store by developers who are willing to pay a $50 entrance fee – although those who are unwilling or unable to do so can still be given an URL in order to distribute their app over the internet.

Luckily for developers, there have also been some mumblings that Palm plans to drop the $99 annual (yearly) fee placed on those who create open source applications; although there has still been no word on whether or not these applications will be submitted to the App Catalogue as well. The only certainty currently, is that the application that don’t make it to the software portal are not going to be reviewed by Palm – meaning that the company will not have control over the apps built for its webOS platform.

Time will tell what method of delivery developers choose, although ideally we will see the bulk of applications available straight from the App Catalogue – fast and simple app shopping is always best.

We were thrilled to hear that Palm has just released several new apps into the Palm App Catalogue, which is still in its BETA phase.

The first app of note is Survivor, which is only available on the Palm Pre. It allows users to see full length episodes, cast biographies, various clips, weekly sweepstakes and your own Survivor Fantasy team to help you keep track of the competition and contestants.

Of course, Palm have got a whole lot more to offer us than just an app designed to promote and market a TV show, which they prove with Send My Location; a clever little app that lets you use your mobile phone to send your family and friends an email or text message telling them your exact location. We imagine this will be especially useful for those of us who spend a night partying with friends and wake up with no idea of where we are; this app will definitely come in handy!

Then there is P2SnippetS – if you frequently use the same bits of text over and over again, you will now be able to copy and stop them with this simple but useful app, then paste them into an application or text message.

There are also some other smaller, simpler apps based on convenience, such as TipCalc for calculating how much you should tip, or what your share of the bill is, as well as the Hebrew Calender, which will keep your phone up to date on all Jewish holidays.

While some of these apps wont appeal to any of you, it is a great sign to see more being added; although frankly, I’m still holding out for an old school Tetris app, myself.