IM (instant messaging) is up 19 percent year over year and is deeply entrenched in the U.S. with many Americans sending as many–if not more–IMs than they do emails. Meanwhile, at-work and mobile messaging have gone mainstream, according to the third annual Instant Messaging Trends Survey from AOL. Instant messaging has taken over as the communications vehicle of choice with 25 percent of users saying they would like to see entertainment content within IM and 20 percent saying they would like to make voice calls to landlines and cell phones directly from their IM service.

Palm’s chief executive on Tuesday reiterated the company’s support for its namesake operating system, even as the company readies its first Windows-based Treo. Palm announced in September that it will soon start selling a Windows-based Treo, a break from its historical exclusive use of the Palm OS. Palm said at the time that it would continue to develop new handhelds and phones using the Palm OS, but concerns have lingered, particular as the developer of the Palm OS, PalmSource, is in the process of being acquired by Japan’s Access. Palm also recently signed a deal that will allow Treo phones to connect to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry servers.

The first e-passports featuring biometric identification stored on a chip have been issued to British diplomats. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has been conducting trials of the new passports, which will be issued to the public in February. The e-passports have been issued to diplomats, including the British ambassador to the United States, Sir David Manning. A trial of the passports took place at the Paris consulate in September, and a second trial took place in Washington, D.C., in late October.

Acceptance of new technology among consumers is on the rise, a new survey shows. About 28 percent of consumers said they are more inclined to accept new technology, while 4 percent are more skeptical of new technology compared to a year ago, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive. The majority, 68 percent, said their attitude toward technology has remained unchanged over the past year. A total of 1,174 adult consumers were polled online for the survey, conducted in September.

Less than three weeks after Apple Computer issued an update to patch four security flaws in its QuickTime media player, a new “critical” problem has been discovered. The unpatched vulnerability could allow remote execution of code, according to an advisory published Monday by eEye Digital Security. It affects various versions of Apple QuickTime running on all types of operating systems, the company said, but did not specify which versions in particular were at risk.

Internet telephone providers do not have to cut off U.S. subscribers even if they are not provided enhanced 911 emergency service which gives dispatchers their location and phone number, U.S. communications regulators said. Internet telephone providers like Nuvio had worried that the Federal Communications Commission rules adopted in May had required them to suspend by November 28 service for subscribers who cannot receive enhanced 911 service. Existing customers did not have to be disconnected, but the FCC said Internet telephone providers would have to cease marketing and accepting new customers in areas where they are not connecting 911 calls with the person’s location and phone number.

Rogers Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) announced a major leap forward in wireless innovation–the BlackBerry 8700r wireless handheld will be available in Canada beginning November 29th. The BlackBerry 8700r elegantly integrates state-of-the-art hardware, software and network technologies to provide the ultimate balance of performance, design and function. The first BlackBerry device available in Canada to support high-speed EDGE network technology, the BlackBerry 8700r enables superior Web browsing, faster wireless connectivity and will operate exclusively on the Rogers Wireless GSM/GPRS/EDGE network, Canada’s largest high-speed wireless data network.

Research In Motion launched BlackBerry Mobile Data System with a new wireless application development framework that supports Web services. Among the new enhancements is a visual development tool that taps into the XML-based Service-Oriented Architecture, enabling system integrators, independent software vendors and in-house corporate developers to rapidly create wireless applications. BlackBerry MDS with support for Web services is available as an upgrade for BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.0 customers.

A growing number of American chief executives rate blogs high as employee communication tools, though a majority of them remain skeptical about starting their own, a new study shows. About 59 percent of CEOs surveyed said they find Web logs, or blogs, useful for internal communications, while 47 percent see them as tools for communication with external audiences, according to a study conducted by PRWeek and Burson-Marsteller.

Papa John’s has beefed up security for its Web-based email system after the pizza chain learned that internal email and customer data had been exposed. The leak at the pizza chain made internal corporate email and thousands of customer comments available to anyone with a Web browser. The customer comments were submitted between Sept. 29 and Nov. 7 and included names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of customers.