Palm is looking to fight its way up the smartphone arena with its recent announcement pertaining to the forthcoming software update for its webOS devices; as well as launching the beta form of its Project Ares – a new development environment to facilitate the creation of compelling webOS applications by developers.

Though Palm is yet to confirm the exact release date of the webOS 1.3.5 update, Jon Rubenstein, the Palm CEO, said during the company’s earnings call on Friday that the software will enhance the Pre and Pixi smartphones in a number of ways.

Rubenstein said that the 1.3.5 software will “let customers download and store more applications, enhance Wi-Fi and application performance, improve battery life, and increase Pixi's speed and responsiveness.”

With Palm fully aware that it webOS devices trail the rival products largely due the lack of mobile programs in its App Catalog – Palm’s over 800 applications fall way short of the Google Android Market’s more than 20,000 apps, and the Apple App Store’s over 100,000 apps – the recently-released Ares developer tool would enable content developers to build apps using only their Web browsers.

Palm’s Project Ares is completely in line with the company's comprehensive developer strategy, more so as the platform is built on standard Web technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to ease the process of app development.