VoiceIt Technologies announced versions of Powered by VoiceIt enabled applications for smartphones using the Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. Available for sale now are VoiceSecureIt 2.0 and VoiceDialIt 2.0 Beta. VoiceSecureIt is an easy-to-use voice biometric authentication application that enables the user to access their smartphone by using a simple and unique voice print phrase.

Palm is giving 228 of its new Treo 700wx smartphones running Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 software to students participating in the Microsoft Student Partner program. Students will use the Treo 700wx, Sprint’s first Windows Mobile-based Treo smartphone on the Sprint Power Vision Network, to promote the benefits of mobility and create greater awareness of the Palm Connected Campus, an initiative that supports mobile-computing environments where mobile computing connects students, faculty, IT, administrators and staff to each other, the campus network and personal information.

Aleratec announced price reductions of up to 45-percent on its LightScribe Disc Publishing Systems. Aleratec DVD and CD LightScribe media enable Aleratec LightScribe duplicators to burn silkscreen quality, high-contrast labels on the topside of CD or DVD media.

T-Mobile USA is set to launch a new breed of mobile phones that can pass live phone calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, a top executive told The Associated Press on Friday. T-Mobile declined to disclose the specific market where they planned to introduce the technology, known as UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access. UMA is designed to hand off calls without interruption from a cell network to a Wi-Fi router, or vice versa.

So you’ve just spent your last few Benjamins on one of Apple’s slick new iPods. Now, though, you want to accessorize your lovely new songbird. When even the least expensive iPod goody costs a good twenty dead presidents, how can you get your bling on and still have a few bucks left over to buy the latest Battlestar Galactica download off iTunes? In this fun article, we’ll show you a Wacky iPod Accessory that costs less than four dollars.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

Hitachi said on Friday it will recall 16,000 batteries made by Sony for laptop computers, joining a growing list of PC makers recalling Sony batteries. Hitachi is in talks with Sony about who will foot the bill to replace the lithium-ion batteries, but the number is too small to have any impact on Hitachi earnings, Hitachi spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi said.

Sony doesn’t expect to cut the U.S. price of its PSP handheld game system for the rest of 2006, and the number of available games will nearly double to about 230 in that time, the company said Thursday. Sony introduced the PSP, or PlayStation Portable, in 2005 in a bundled package that included several accessories and has sold some 5.5 million units in the United States. Currently it sells the device for $200 without some original add-ons, as well as a $250 package including the device, a movie and a memory card.

The SCO Group announced the availability of HipCheck, the latest offering from the company’s Me Inc. mobile services division that proactively monitors and manages UNIX and Windows systems through Windows Mobile phones. HipCheck is the only mobile administration solution on the market that combines system monitoring and alerts with secure mobile intervention. As a result, technicians are able to detect, diagnose and correct many common system problems much more quickly than before.

The Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger allows you to charge any device, whether it be your PDA, mobile phone, or MP3 player when you are nowhere near a wall socket, laptop, or PC. The Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger charges from any standard USB port and stores an impressive 3400 mAH of power for when you need it. This means that you have the ability to charge your device several times from this emergency store. Cables are supplied with standard USB and mini USB connectors–and also a cable to fit your iPod.

Best Buy has unveiled the Best Buy Digital Music Store, a new service that will give customers an easy way to enjoy, manage, and discover music. The new service is powered by the RealNetworks’ Rhapsody 4.0 music service, and features both a permanent download store and a subscription download service. As part of this launch, Best Buy also will carry and promote the SanDisk Sansa e200R Rhapsody MP3 players, which have been optimized to work seamlessly with the Best Buy Digital Music Store. The Best Buy Digital Music Store and the Sansa e200R Rhapsody MP3 players will both be available at participating Best Buy stores as of Sunday, October 15th.