HP began rolling out the webOS 3.0.2 update to its TouchPad tablet on Monday evening. The software update is expected to improve the performance and stability of the device and also includes a number of enhancements. According to HP’s change log, webOS 3.0.2 offers improvements to the calendar, email, music, photos and videos, and web browser applications. Users should now see faster scrolling inside email with improved message content and image display. In addition, HP has reduced audio skipping while the TouchPad is multitasking and has improved the speed and accuracy of text assist. The company has also dropped the price of the TouchPad by $50 until September 10th, which means you can pick up a 16GB model for $449 or a 32GB model for $549. Read on for a full list of the webOS 3.0.2 changes.

Calendar

• Quicker Just Type event search and event creation
• Improved handling of meeting cancellations

Email:

Faster scrolling

Improved message content and image display

Improved management of multiple emails in Draft and Outbox views

Music

• Reduced audio skipping when the device is running other applications
• Better display of album art

Photos & Videos

• Added ability to set wallpapers
• Faster and more reliable handling of individual photos and albums

Text Assist

• Improved speed and accuracy of auto-corrections

Web

• Increased scrolling support compatibility within web pages
• Improved performance of remote HTML5 video playback
• Improved responsiveness of auto correction within the browser

webOS System

• Fixed issues with oversensitive screen rotation

Security

This release addresses a number of security issues with HP webOS software.

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will issue a software update for the HTC ThunderBolt on May 3rd. The update will enhance the connectivity to Verizon’s 3G network – when a 4G signal isn’t available, of course – and will also fix some email and SMS bugs so that messages are stored properly in your inbox. Verizon also said that, after the patch is applied, the Backup Assistant application will display properly in the applications menu. Other fixes include faster loading of GPS updates and stability improvements for Facebook, KAYAK, Yahoo! Mail, My Verizon, and others. Unfortunately, the update doesn’t appear to offer any improvements to the ThunderBolt’s notoriously bad battery life.

[Via Mobile Burn]

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Motorola has announced that there is a new software update available for the Verizon Wireless DROID Pro. Unfortunately the patch will not update your DROID Pro to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but it should reduce the frequency of UI lockups, offer improved audio during calls, and the following fixes:

Improved audio on voice calls.

Improved stability and performance.

User interface display now refreshes when user switches from GSM/UMTS communication to Global Mode.

Device now prepends 011 to Country Code to send SMS messages.

Global Mode no longer resets when connecting to a USB charger.

Visual Voice Mail now detects airplane mode while Wi-Fi is active.

Prompt return to full screen brightness after wake-up.

Upgraded Bluetooth firmware.

Improved interoperability with Microsoft Internet Application Gateway (IAG) configurations.

Device string format for Exchange changed to include device name and version number.

Upgrade to Google applications Release 7

For more information on the software update, hit up Verizon Wireless’ support forums located at www.verizonwireless.com/droidprosupport.

[Via Mobile Burn]

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Call it a modern anomaly, herd mentality or whatever else you want but Twitter seems to continue to grow in popularity as its downtime issues get more pronounced. Amidst recent news of a successful funding round, Twitter’s problems keep getting worse as buzz throughout the blogosphere questions Twitter’s staying power. Is it really that hard to keep Twitter up? Nick Halstead seems to think he has just the viagra Twitter needs. In his post on the fav.or.it blog yesterday, Halstead basically went kindergarden teacher on Twitter in an attempt to teach them how to build their own service. Some might consider this to be a bit embarrassing; your well-valued web service is so riddled with issues that people are constantly and publicly posing solutions. Halstead concludes by stating that his solution is “pretty simple stuff” but clarifies by acknowledging the fact that a complete redesign is obviously impossible at this point (although with all the current downtime, would we really even notice it?). Whatever the case, it seems cel-web-rities will continue to enjoy blurting 140-character randomness into cyberspace and hoards of followers will continue to enjoy replying to a wall. The question is whether or not the hype can outlast the stability issues. Anyone up for using Halstead’s model to build a competitive offering?

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