Google may have an answer for those tired of paying for expensive 411 calls from their cell phone: Google Voice Local Search, which goes by the nickname Goog-411. The service, currently in testing on the search company's Labs site, makes local business searches accessible via the phone.

In theory, Goog-411 is simple: users call a toll-free number (1-800-GOOG-411) and speak their search query, which is then processed through speech recognition software. If there is an exact match, Google can connect the user directly to the business free of charge.

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Google has admitted to using a third-party in developing the dictionary for its recently-released Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME), aimed at assisting Chinese users in entering characters on a Roman-style keyboard, IDG News Service reported Monday. The search engine has come under criticism for possibly infringing on a similar service offered by Chinese competitor Sohu.com.

Sohu sent a letter to Google Friday demanding that they halt downloads of the IME, as they claim portions of the application copies its own IME. It is unknown whether Sohu used the same third-party, although names of Sohu employees and similar mistakes are found in each product. Google China apologized in a blog post Monday, making changes to the IME database.

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Yahoo is joining the ranks of Microsoft and others in attempting to unseat Apple's venerable iPod by teaming with SanDisk on a new Wi-Fi enabled Sansa MP3 player. The device will retail for $250, and includes a 2.2-inch color LCD screen and a capacity of 4GB.

Although it's not the first portable music player to boast Wi-Fi connectivity, Yahoo and SanDisk are making the feature more useful. Unlike the Microsoft Zune, the Sansa Connect would be able to directly download songs from the Internet and stream Internet radio.

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Google is asking college students to voice their opinions on campus e-mail services, likely aimed at giving the company a better understanding of how to improve its suite of communications services aimed at colleges and universities.

The Mountain View, Calif. search giant has been offering a version of its Google Apps product for educational institutions for about a year now. The offering includes e-mail, instant messaging, document collaboration and calendaring tools.

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Although the company denies that it is discontinued, the 20GB version of the PlayStation 3 is becoming increasingly difficult to find. At least two online retailers no longer carry the low-end model, with a brick-and-mortar retailer apparently discontinuing sales as well.

One of those stores is Sony's own SonyStyle.com. In a statement, Sony said the $499 20GB PS3 is still shipping to retailers, claiming its move was due to market demand. A spokesperson for Best Buy, whose online store has also removed the lower-end PS3, was not immediately available.

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Japan's second-largest wireless phone carrier announced plans Sunday to begin selling cellular service in the United States using Sprint-Nextel's network. The company is planning to target mainly Japanese customers living in the US, as it looks for customers beyond its saturated home market.

Although a number of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) have fallen flat due to their reliance on a third-party network, KDDI believes it can distinguish itself by targeting Japanese who may already be familiar with the brand. According to Tokyo's Asahi newspaper, KDDI expects to begin selling phones later this month, rebranding handsets from Sanyo under its KDDI Mobile label.

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Microsoft has announced its planned upgrades to the Xbox 360, expected on May 7. Among the new features are integration with the Windows Live Messenger network.

The new functionality expands the messaging capabilities beyond the Xbox Live gaming network to the entire Messenger community. The messaging services will be unified for simplicity's sake, Microsoft says.

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The popular open source instant messaging client Gaim has a new name thanks to legal pressure from AOL, now being dubbed "Pidgin." The slightly more bizarre moniker comes after lengthy and secret settlement talks with AOL, which Gaim developers apologized for.

Originally called "GTK+ AOL Instant Messenger," the project was renamed to Gaim after an initial complaint by AOL. After AOL trademarked the "AIM" name a few years later, the company put legal pressure on the developers once again, who sought support of lawyers.

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Outpacing even Sony's once-ubiquitous Walkman, Apple announced Monday it had sold 100 million iPods, making the device the fastest selling music player in history. The milestone was hit in just five and a half years, with the original 5GB iPod introduced in November 2001.

Apple has released 10 new iPod models since that time, including the iPod mini, iPod nano and iPod shuffle. Over 4,000 accessories are available for the player, and over 70 percent of car manufacturers offer iPod support. "iPod has helped millions of people around the world rekindle their passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that," remarked Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

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The question hanging over the heads of users of high-definition DVD player software since the development of software that reveals all the encryption keys used by HD DVD and Blu-ray discs - potentially enabling them to back up their contents - has been whether manufacturers will invoke the AACS revocation key.

This is the feature of the encryption scheme that would unleash a handful of methods "downstream" into the user community, that would disable their players from working now that discs have apparently been cracked.

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Mozilla on Friday took the wraps off of the first release candidate of its upcoming Thunderbird 2.0 release, aimed at making organization of e-mail easier for its users.

The open-source e-mail client will be available across 35 languages on three platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. In addition, full Vista support has been built into the client for the first time.

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Microsoft this week released a beta software development kit for Windows Home Server, the company's newest operating system version for connecting multiple PCs and digital devices in a home. The SDK will enable developers to build custom applications for Home Server, which could range from system protection and home security to media sharing.

"The SDK will enable hobbyist and professional developers to build applications that run on Windows Home Server and extend the functionality of the Windows Home Server Console, or to build applications that run on a home computer and connect to Windows Home Server," a company spokesperson told BetaNews. "Updates to the beta SDK documentation will be posted in the future."

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PERSPECTIVE - Calling her the "self-proclaimed operator of an internet website known as 'Groklaw,"' attorneys for UNIX vendor SCO Group filed a motion on Monday stating it is seeking to serve blogger Pamela Jones with a subpoena to be deposed in its intellectual property case against Linux vendor Novell. SCO also seeks to use the deposition content in its seemingly interminable case against IBM.

In its memorandum, SCO does not actually lay out a case for how Jones may have damaged the company directly, though it cites a multitude of press reports as "evidence" that the company hopes to prove is relevant, including some that allege a financial or material connection between Jones and IBM - albeit several steps removed.

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P2P provider Azureus, which provides software and technology for the transfer of large media riles, said Thursday that it had launched Vuze, a legitimate service that would specialize in high-quality video content.

Vuze will feature both DVD and HD-quality content, and offer premium content from around the world. BBC's hit television series Sorted as well as original programming from premium network Showtime will also be offered.

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Microsoft's MIX 07 Web conference, which runs April 30 through May 2 in Las Vegas, has sold out, the company announced this week. Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie will open the conference with a keynote address, while other speakers include Robbie Bach, Scott Guthrie, and Michael Arrington.

Calling it "a 72-hour conversation," MIX 07 is designed to connect developers and designers who are building the next-generation Web applications. Microsoft also plans to show off the latest opportunities related to Windows Vista, Xbox 360, Windows Mobile and Windows Live. BetaNews will be in attendance covering MIX 07 live.

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