Are there any working examples using these tricks so we can test the difference? (The author's product request an invite to use)
https://github.com/codecomputerlove/PhotoSwipe
Here's a simple HTML5/Photoswipe/Phonegap app I wrote that you could experiment with:
https://github.com/stungeye/HTML5-Tumblr-Mobile-App
Explained here: http://mobilehtml5.stungeye.com
In fact, using translate3d and CSS animation is pretty much the only way to get smooth animation - if you do it with pure JS (setting left/top styles), things get very herky-jerky.
We use them to emulate the Facebook / Path / Twitter swipe to move the main panel, performance isn't 100% of native - but it's pretty close.