Google Voice, the popular and often controversial VoIP, voicemail, and messaging service from Mountain View search giant Google is now open for anyone in the U.S. to use.

Previously, you could only open a Google Voice account if you received an invitation from a user already participating in the program.

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Adobe began testing Flash Player 10.1 on Android 2.2 in late May, and hit the beta 3 phase last week.

Today, Adobe announced that the final version of Flash Player 10.1 has been sent to mobile platform partners, and that Flash Player 10.1 will be available as a final production release on the following "Froyo" (Android 2.2) devices:

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The notices went out last night: iPhone 4 will arrive a day early for some people -- perhaps even all who successfully preordered on June 15 for a June 24 delivery date. Now why is that? I've got five reasons, but first the obligatory background information.

I placed my order around 7:40 p.m. PT on June 15. Hours earlier, many Apple enthusiast and tech blogs reported that iPhone 4 preorders had sold out and the new arrival date was July 2. I credit these, ah, mistaken reports for the sudden responsiveness of Apple's online iPhone 4 ordering system late on June 15. I finally got through the process with ease, after about a dozen failed attempts throughout the day.

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Sonic Solutions today announced it will be providing the streaming video platform for connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and mobile phones sold at Sears and Kmart stores.
The streaming video services are expected to launch later this year, and will be built upon Sonic's RoxioNow platform.

RoxioNow was formerly known as CinemaNow, but Sonic changed its name last April to fit in with the company's other products. But new name aside, it's the same streaming video platform that powers Blockbuster on Demand and Best Buy's in-house brands.

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Late last year, chipmaker Intel became the subject of sweeping antitrust investigations from the European Commission, the state of New York, and the US Federal Trade Commission.

Today, lawyers for both Intel and the FTC have filed a motion to suspend the trial while both parties consider potential settlement of the case, which was filed in December of 2009. The motion, according to the announcement, opens a window through July 22, when Intel and the FTC will discuss a consent order, which is currently confidential.

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No sooner does Barnes and Noble lower the price of its nook e-reader, than Amazon does the same with the Kindle.

Amazon.com has just announced that the 3G-equipped Kindle 2 e-reader is now $189 (down from $259,) making it $10 cheaper than Barnes and Noble's newly reduced 3G nook.

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Apple is carefully manipulating its share price by the timing of certain product announcements; iPhone 4 is the clearest, recent example. Not that the manipulation is new. In December I asked: "Are Apple stock price gains the reason for recent tablet rumors?" The answer was an unequivocal "Yes!" based on share price gains aligned with rumors -- and Apple announcements that followed.

To be clear: In asserting manipulation, I don't mean to suggest someone is breaking the law or acting unethically. I liken it to a puppeteer masterfully and artistically moving marionettes across a stage. With respect to its share price, Apple is carefully timing certain announcements for maximum share price benefits, with an artist's -- or, perhaps better stated, a master marketer's -- skill.

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Today, Toshiba's Digital Products Division announced an exciting limited edition dual touchscreen netbook/umpc called the Libretto W100.

Specs:

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Late in 2009, leading U.S. book retailer Barnes and Noble launched its first e-reader, the Android-based nook. The nook includes a 6" e-ink display and a 3.5" LCD touchscreen for content navigation, giving it an instantly recognizable shape in an e-reader market packed with selfsame competitors.

When it hit retail, there was only a single nook model which included AT&T 3G wireless that cost $259, the exact same price as the Kindle 2 from Amazon.

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Today, in its Open Source projects blog, Google announced a Python-based command line utility it's calling GoogleCL. The tool brings various Google services to the command line, including Blogger, Calendar, Contacts, Picasa, Docs, and YouTube.

You can download the Linux package or zipped tar archive here.

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Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced that its Spectrum Task Force expects up to 90MHz of spectrum to be freed up for wireless broadband by July in the commission's strategy to unleash 500MHz by 2020.

"This initiative is an opportunity to make additional spectrum available for mobile broadband by promoting greater spectrum efficiency and flexibility," said Julie Knapp, Co-Chair of the Task Force. "The Spectrum Task Force remains firmly committed to maintaining robust mobile satellite capability that serves important needs like disaster recovery and rural access. I am confident that we can achieve all of these goals and create a win-win solution."

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This just isn't my week for being right. On Tuesday there was confession: "I was wrong about Apple iPad." Today, I make another: I was wrong about Microsoft's CEO. Yesterday's Windows Embedded Handheld announcement shattered my remaining confidence in Steve Ballmer. About three weeks ago, I asserted: "Steve Ballmer is the right man to turn around Microsoft mobile." If yesterday's announcement is indicative of Microsoft's mobile strategy, then I was wrong. He isn't the right man, and I must now question if he should even continue leading Microsoft.

Since January, when I posted "Microsoft, don't give up on Steve Ballmer just yet," people have asked by way of Betanews comments, e-mail or Twitter how I can stand by the man, and I have been sharply criticized for the stance. Perhaps I like Ballmer's character too much. He is a rarity among corporate CEOs. Ballmer wears his heart on his sleeve. The man struggles to contain his excitement or to resist speaking his mind, despite years of media coaching. Ballmer is a "tell it like it is" kind of man, and I find the quality appealing.

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Research in Motion's BlackBerry App World brought the popular line of business smartphones into the business of mobile apps early last year. This week, the company unveiled App World 2.0, which introduces a number of new features that improve the user experience.

One of the problems with App World was that the only way you could buy apps was with a PayPal account. Following the 2.0 update, users will have the option to bill app purchases to their wireless carrier's calling plan, or to directly charge to a credit card.

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Today, the newest version of popular open source blogging software WordPress was released. Version 3.0, also known as "Thelonious," has undergone a significant number of improvements, such as the inclusion of new standard APIs that let theme developers easily implement new backgrounds, headers, menus, custom posts, and more.

All of the new APIs are shown off in the new default theme called "Twenty Ten."

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Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Inquiry that begins the public process of comparing possible frameworks for broadband Internet regulation.

The Commission seeks comment on the following issues:

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