Record company Sony BMG Music Entertainment has been targeted in a class-action lawsuit in California by consumers claiming their computers have been harmed by anti-piracy software on some Sony BMG CDs. The claim states that Sony BMG failed to disclose the true nature of the digital rights management system it uses on its CDs and thousands of computer users have unknowingly infected their computers, according to court documents. The suit, filed Nov. 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court asks the court to stop Sony BMG from selling additional CDs protected by the anti-piracy software and seeks monetary damages for California consumers who purchased them.

Instant messaging is emerging as a favorite communication tool among teenagers and young adults, with a good number of them sending more IMs than emails, a new survey says. Nearly 66 percent of 13- to 21-year-olds say they send more IMs than emails, compared with 49 percent last year, according to an America Online-commissioned study of instant messaging trends. Overall, 38 percent of users say they send as many or more IMs than emails.

TELUS Mobility and Palm Canada announced the availability of the Palm Treo 650 smartphone, a compact, full-featured mobile phone with email, messaging and Web capabilities, Palm OS organizer, Bluetooth support, digital camera that can capture still images and video, and MP3 player. The Treo 650 smartphone provides TELUS Mobility’s clients with increased mobility while simplifying the way they manage their work and personal lives.

Big Contact announced the launch of The Relay Suite, offering a feature-rich service that integrates a custom MP3 blog, podcast, news feed, and industry-leading Web-based podcast player (Feed Player) into clients’ existing Web sites. No longer do podcasters need to hobble together multiple services to publish their ‘casts. The Relay Suite service is based on Big Contact’s MultiCast Publisher platform that publishes to multiple distribution methods using one easy-to-use Web-based interface. The MultiCast Report then reveals the amount of contact made via the multiple distribution paths the information has traveled. The Relay Suite integrates into clients’ existing Web sites or can exist as standalone Web sites. It installs to the clients’ servers with the addition of just one text file.

Stung by continuing criticism, the world’s second-largest music label, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, promised Friday to temporarily suspend making music CDs with antipiracy technology that can leave computers vulnerable to hackers. Sony defended its right to prevent customers from illegally copying music but said it will halt manufacturing CDs with the “XCP” technology as a precautionary measure. The antipiracy technology, which works only on Windows computers, prevents customers from making more than a few copies of the CD and prevents them from loading the CD’s songs onto Apple Computer’s popular iPod portable music players. Some other music players, which recognize Microsoft’s proprietary music format, would work.

BoxWave announced their newest release, the Designio Leather Shell Case for the Treo 650. The Designio Leather Shell Case is a hard leather case that is hand-crafted from fine, premium grade leather to custom fit your Treo 650. The durable leather casing is strong and sturdy, yet it is slim, giving it its professional look. The interior of the Designio Leather Shell Case is lined with soft fabric that is gentle on your device and keeps it cushioned. Its cutouts for buttons and connectors make the Treo 650 fully accessible and convenient to use while in the case.

Belkin announced the compatibility of its TuneCast Auto with iPod nano and 5G iPod as well as with iPod 3G, 4G, and photo. The device allows you to listen to the music from your iPod through your car’s FM radio. Unlike other FM transmitters, the TuneCast Auto powers and charges through your car’s cigarette lighter–eliminating the need to drain power from the iPod itself. Its new design and ample features make for an easy, convenient solution to listen to your iPod on the road. The TuneCast Auto will be shipping in North America in late November 2005.

Belkin announced four new cases for the 5G iPod that meet the various needs of the 5G iPod user. Designed to reinforce Apple’s latest iPod that displays video, Belkin’s cases specifically address various aspects of user functionality while still maintaining a sleek-yet-simple aesthetic design. These cases will be available in North America in early December.

Belkin announced two new additions to its case lineup for iPod nano. The Classic Case and Holster Case both keep with the nano’s minimalist industrial design approach while still offering various aspects of user functionality. These cases will be available in North America in early December.

DataViz announced the release of Documents To Go Premium Edition version 8. This latest version of the Premium Edition adds native PDF support, providing customers with an image-rich, WYSIWYG-view of product brochures, manuals, annual reports and other common Adobe PDF files and attachments without requiring any desktop conversion. Native PDF technology includes support for embedded graphics, tables, multiple zoom levels, page layout and word wrap views to provide a desktop-quality view of PDF files on Treo smartphones and other popular Palm OS-based devices. In addition, pre-processing of files is not required on the desktop before the file can be viewed on the mobile device. For instance, customers who receive PDF files as email attachments can easily view them right on their mobile device.