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We covered location-based game Foursquare's webOS client earlier in the year, noting that competitor Gowalla had a client for the Palm Pre and Pixi 'in the works' - and today, just in time for SXSW, the Gowalla webOS client has appeared in the App Store. As with all things Gowalla, the client is slickly designed, and includes all the bells and whistles found in the Gowalla iPhone app from Checking in, friends checkins and the recently expanded 'Trips' feature.

Whilst the number of webOS devices may be somewhat lower than, say, iPhones, the release today is particularly important given the webOS browser doesn't support location services that would otherwise allow Gowalla users to use the well-designed mobile website.

Be sure to check out our gallery of Gowalla for webOS screenshots - and if you own a Pre or Pixi, the app is ready to download in the webOS App Catalog.

With Palm's webOS App Catalog finally starting to roll out paid applications around the world, EA Mobile and Palm seem to be enticing folks to start using the App Catalog with a trio of free games. Unfortunately, in order to nab the three downloads -- Need for Speed Underground, Monopoly and The Sims 3 -- you'll need to be in the UK or Ireland.

If you're one of the folks with a Palm Pre in your pocket and looking for a couple of games to burn some time with, head on over to the App Catalog, and download them before the end of the month when the promotion ends.

Whilst the original version was handy for checking on your friends' status updates, it offered little more than a Twitter-like UI for the Facebook service. With this new update, there's not just the status messages, but news feed items, events and photos all within a stylishly tidy UI.

The update is, as you'd expect, freely available for download via the Palm App Catalog.

Way back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Palm announced the webOS 1.4 update for Pre and Pixi devices, and late last week it finally dropped. The biggest new feature is the much-craved video recording and sharing (complete with Facebook and YouTube uploading), though the Palm release notes show there's a fair amount more in the update:

• Mobile Hotspot application, that turns your phone into a 3G-connected WiFi hotspot, is included with the update
• Secure Erase option, for safely removing private data from the device
• Customisable calendar alert sounds
• Numerous performance enhancements
• Preparations for the forthcoming Flash plugin for webOS (which is coming soon to the App Catalog).

The update, which weighs in around 38MB, is available via webOS software update -- and if your Pre or Pixi is connected to a WiFi or 3G network, the update will download in the background. Best of all, it's available for Sprint customers in the US as well as European carriers O2 and Movistar.
[Via Engadget]

If you're a fan of Tetris (who isn't?) you've no-doubt lost hours to the fabled game. Due to the cult status of the original and its sequels means I've rarely found a variant I've wanted to play. Today's time-waster changes that and takes the classic game to an all-new, mind-blowing level. First-Person Tetris presents you with a moving piece, and you then rotate the screen around it to eliminate rows of blocks.

First-Person Tetris is surprisingly difficult to get pieces into place, forcing you to think even harder about every move and whilst it IS slightly crazy, it's complete with a wonderfully-retro design -- all the way down to the music that accompanies the game.

You'll probably only last 10 minutes without getting a headache and giving up... but it is just a time-waster after all!

With all the location-based services sprouting up, it's surprising to find one that's a little different from the now-formulaic location-based game. However BlockChalk is just that. Instead of requiring you sign up and tell your friends where you're re-enacting The Hangover, BlockChalk lets you anonymously leave messages for your neighbourhood to read. If you're wondering how on earth this would be useful, the BlockChalk folks provide this handy guide:

• Got something to say? BlockChalk.
• Neighborhood tip? BlockChalk.
• Lost kitty? BlockChalk.
• Lost croc? Call 911.
• Borrow a lawnmower? BlockChalk.
• Report a pothole? BlockChalk.
• Sell your pot? NOT BlockChalk.
• Pub crawl? Absolut BlockChalk.
• Bitch about BlockChalk? We can take it.

In short, it's a ridiculously simple local noticeboard for nearby folks, with options to share "Chalks", reply publicly and privately, and bury useless ones. There's an iPhone app and webOS app out now for the service: with support for other devices in the works. Whilst it's not currently the prettiest service out there, it's certainly fun -- and potentially very handy to know what's going on around you. Check out our gallery, and an introductory video after the jump!

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It's been just one week since the Foursquare webOS app entered beta, and amidst a flurry of news around the location-based game that broke free of its city-limits this week the webOS application has already seen a sizeable update.

The original beta of the application, whilst stylish, was (understandably) slow and incomplete - however today's new build is both feature complete and blazing fast. Not only that, but the new update sees the app sport a slightly new look.

When it comes to location-based games, Foursquare currently has the lead in terms of devices supported - with a universally-accessible mobile site, Blackberry app, Android client and the original iPhone app available. However we're going to be keeping our eyes on the other location-based services: Gowalla recently announced their plans to bring out Blackberry and webOS applications 'this year'.

If you want to play with the latest version of the Foursquare app, it'll be available in the App Catalogue shortly - or you can download it from the Foursquare for webOS Github page. The app remains open source, with the code available via Github.

Take the jump to check out the gallery!

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In case you're wondering why your RSS reader has gone into overdrive, it just so happens to be Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week -- and that means that all the mobile companies bar one (Apple!) are announcing their new devices and software. Today's turn is underdog Palm, who've been outlining their plans for the webOS platform.

[Images courtesy of our brethren at Engadget]

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Whilst there's a couple of excellent, paid-for, virtualization options around for OS X (Parallels and VMware), they can be a little heavy-handed if you only need to run one or two applications. Not to mention the price of a virtualization application as well as the necessary Windows licence can make it an expensive purchase! Of course, there's Boot Camp, but that also requires a Windows license. But there's is an alternative: the free and open-source Wine project. Wine allows you to run Windows applications within Mac OS X without either a Windows licence or virtualisation application -- though not every application will work.

As Wine's not the easiest thing to install, this handy guide is available to walk you through the setup and configuration. You'll need to be comfortable in the Terminal to make the most of the tutorial, but if that's not too big a challenge, a little Terminal-fu is a small investment for begrudgingly running the odd Windows app.

[Photo by kcdsTM]