Google has quietly released an updated version of their popular Google Maps Mobile app for Palm OS-based devices. While Google’s mobile map page does not indicate actual version numbers, a download and quick check of the Palm OS PRC file does indicate that a new version, 1.2.0.8 has been posted within the past few days.

On the Google Mobile Maps Treo-specific page, Google hints at speed enhancements in this latest version, along with real-time traffic reports and detailed directions. Google also touts “shorter startup time” and “stylus integration” as enhancements in this latest version of the app.

Krome, from Wolflane Software, is a new email application for Palm’s Treo. Krome features a clean and streamlined, easy to use interface. It has custom small font support which allows you to view much more text on the screen at one time. It supports the usual POP3 and IMAP email accounts, has a guided setup process and can store messages on external memory cards. It also has advanced network support, which allows you to read and create email while new emails are being downloaded in the background.

iSkoot announced the release of the iSkoot v1.1 mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones. The new iSkoot v1.1 delivers a comprehensive mobile Skype experience on BlackBerry: With the click of a button, users can instantly chat with their Skype contacts, make and receive Skype calls, and use SkypeOut to inexpensively call regular phone numbers nearly anywhere in the world. iSkoot v1.1 also displays complete Skype contact status information, so BlackBerry users can see which friends, family members and business colleagues are available, as well as manage their own online presence. This latest release features a next generation, easy-to-use interface especially designed for BlackBerry users and will offer additional features soon. iSkoot works without any need for PCs, special hardware, custom phones or Wi-Fi hot spots, and utilizes the existing mobile network infrastructure to route Skype calls through the voice channel.

Pop in a new CD and you might notice that the quality of the music itself–maybe something as simple as a snare drum hit–just doesn’t sound as crisp and as clear as you’re used to. Why is that?

It’s part of the music industry’s quest to make music louder and louder. The result is that, sure, the soft parts of a song are nice and loud, but big noises like drum beats become muffled and fuzzy. But consumers often subconsciously equate loudness with quality, and thus, record producers pump up the volume. Anything to make a buck.

Mexens Technology announced the availability of Navizon for any Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled computer. Navizon is a positioning system that works by triangulating signals from Wi-Fi and/or Cellular towers. It is based on a community of users mapping the wireless landscape in their area and collecting Wi-Fi and Cell towers locations all around the world. Once the data collected is shared with the rest of the network, everyone can benefit from Navizon’s virtual GPS, even on devices that do not include a GPS chip.

Microsoft announced an improved version of Microsoft Robotics Studio, just months after the December 2006 introduction of its robotics application development toolkit. The new Microsoft Robotics Studio 1.5 adds support for Windows Embedded CE 6.0 and Windows Mobile 6, which allows developers to more easily deploy advanced scenarios and software applications on embedded platforms of a wider variety and lower cost.

Microsoft Robotics Studio 1.5 includes improvements to its visual programming language and 3-D real-world-physics-based visual simulation environment, built on the AGEIA Technologies-based PhysX engine. New services have also been added, including support for vision and speech recognition, expanded documentation and a new editor that makes it easier to configure and target software services for robotics platforms.

Sony is slashing the price of its PlayStation 3 games console by 17% or $100 in the US to boost sales. As a result the PS3 will now cost $500, between $100 and $200 more than versions of the Microsoft Xbox 360 and twice as much as the Nintendo Wii.

The Xbox 360 and Wii have been significantly outselling the PS3 in the US market.

Palm and Pelephone Communications, an Israel-based cellular communications provider, announced the availability of the Treo 700wx smartphone for Pelephone’s CDMA/EV-DO network in Israel. The Treo 700wx smartphone is available now at Pelephone stores and authorized dealers.

The touch-screen enabled Treo 700wx smartphone combines broadband-like speeds on Pelephone’s high-speed network with wireless email and rich media capabilities all in one device–bringing Palm’s world-class ease of use to the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform. The Treo 700wx smartphone incorporates a full QWERTY keyboard for easy messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a bright 240×240 touch screen and support for Bluetooth stereo headsets. The built-in 64MB of RAM allows the use of a more robust set of applications, while storage can be enhanced by using the SD slot to add memory cards of up to 2GB, which are great for storing data, photos, music and video.

Those airplane power adapters you can buy for your gadgets are useless without an actual power outlet for your seat–and unless you’re in first or business class, you probably won’t get one. Enter Inflight Power and its clever new adapter, which lets you draw juice from the headphone jack on your armrest.

Simply plug the cord into your seat’s audio jack, turn the dial to an in-flight channel with consistently loud sound (rock music works nicely, according to Inflight Power), crank the volume, and plug in your MP3 player or handheld (adapters are available for iPods, BlackBerrys, Motorola phones, or most any pocket device with a mini USB port for charging). It doesn’t look like the Inflight Power adapters will work for laptops, though.

Exploding from the other end of the field, a silver robot glinted under the light of the cameras and burst toward the lone defender standing between it and the goal. But suddenly, the robot stopped dead in its tracks, hopelessly mired as if it were stuck on superglue.

A metal arm appeared to rescue the wayward robot, but it was no crane–it was an acupuncture needle. And the field it plucked the robot from was hardly the size of a grain of rice. What do you expect when the robot is six times smaller than an amoeba and weighs no more than a few hundred nanograms?

Robots of all sizes have descended on the campus of Georgia Tech for the RoboCup, an international contest that pits robotic creations against one another in a range of technical challenges. But perhaps the most intriguing event was Saturday’s Nano Cup, a competition hailed by organizers as the world’s first nanoscale soccer game.

Held by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, its organizers hope to show the potential for building tiny devices that can be used in manufacturing, biotechnology and other industries. They also hope to develop manufacturing standards for the untapped field.