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iPhone 3G users were disappointed when Apple's iOS 4.0 made their devices all but unusable due to sluggish performance and short battery life. The iOS 4.1 update was a step in the right direction, with iPhone 3G owners reporting that Apple had made significant improvements. With the release of iOS 4.2 coming any day now, many are wondering if upgrading the firmware on their devices will speed things up even further or lead to more problems.

Apple has released the golden master of iOS 4.2, which is the last version that goes to developers before public release via iTunes. The iPhone Blog has thoroughly tested iOS 4.2 on the iPhone 3G and they have revealed that iOS 4.2 runs pretty smoothly in a video demonstration.

Keep a close watch on your iPhone alarms this weekend if you depend on your smartphone to wake you up on Monday morning. Once again it's time to fall back this weekend, as US clocks must be set an hour earlier at 2 AM Sunday. Standard Time should be set automatically on your iPhone, however a bug in the alarm clock software could wreak havoc with repeating alarms.

These alarms won't recognize the time change and will go off precisely one hour late. The bug has already caught people off guard in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Apple is aware of the issue, and the company plans to issue a fix in the iOS 4.2 update. In the meantime, they have issued a support document for the problem.

Apple is set to approve the web browsing iPhone app Skyfire for release later this week. Although other third-party web browsers exist, Skyfire is unique in that it makes playing Flash content possible on iOS devices. The app works by downloading Flash content to its servers and converting it for display in an HTML5 pop-up window on the iPhone.

Don't get too excited just yet. Sites such as Hulu won't work due to licensing concerns, and you can't play Flash games with the Skyfire browser. These functions are still limited by Apple, although the video content alone will open up vast swaths of the Internet to iOS devices that until now appeared as a blank page.

US retailer Target is next in line to offer the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS in stores. The company will launch both Apple handset models in its Target Mobile section starting on November 7. Customers can get support from Target Mobile employees and activate their new device on the AT&T network in-store.

Target will initially offer the iPhone at 846 locations across the country, with most of the remaining 906 stores rolling out Target Mobile sections and iPhones at a later date. With the November 7 release date, the retailer plans to attract shoppers just in time for the holiday season.

You don't hear much about web apps these days, but there are some that look and function so well you might forget you're using Safari. Google has been constantly improving its Gmail web interface and they've recently revamped the mobile site again. Similar to the native Apple Mail app, the mobile version of Gmail's website is designed with the iPhone touch screen in mind.

You can swipe to archive a message, and now Google has improved the scroll speed to simulate the same quick flick of the finger to jump down in the mailbox. The toolbar has been anchored to the top of the screen, a welcome reversal of a recent change that had the toolbar floating over emails.