Trillian Astra develop almost for nearly three years and now available to users as a public beta. Users don’t need to register for a private key to download it, although if you’ve been using it since reported on the Astra beta in April, it might be time for an upgrade.

In announcing on the Trillian blog that the beta is now public, Cerulean Studios also said the latest build of the multi-protocol chat client fixes bugs related to server-based problems. The company clearly has confidence in the beta, though, since they’ve made it the featured product on their download page. Users can still grab Trillian 3.1, the latest stable build, but only from a link off to the side.

On the Trillian download page, you can also see that Cerulean Studios has plans for Mac, iPhone, and Web-based clients. So far, none of those versions is available for public testing.

Download Trillian now

The Palm Pre is an Internet-connected multimedia smartphone designed and build by Palm, Inc. with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The phone will be the first to use Palm’s new Linux-based operating system, webOS. The main functions are camera phone, a portable media player, a GPS navigator, and an Internet client (with text messaging, email, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity).

The good: The Palm Pre’s multitasking capabilities and notifications system are unparalleled. The smartphone features a vibrant display with multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration. The Pre offered good call quality and wireless options include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

The bad: The Pre’s keyboard is cramped. Battery life drains quickly and the smartphone can be sluggish at times. Lacks expansion slot, video-recording capabilities, onscreen keyboard, and Flash support. The Pre App Catalog is still in beta with a limited number of titles.

The bottom line: Despite some missing features and performance issues that make it less than ideal for on-the-go professionals, the Palm Pre offers gadget lovers and consumers well-integrated features and unparalled multitasking capabilities. The hardware could be better, but more importantly, Palm has developed a solid OS that not only rivals the competition but also sets a new standard in the way smartphones handle tasks and manage information.