It looks like we'll finally be seeing an official Google Voice App for the iPhone in the App Store. TechCrunch reports that not only should we expect to see the official app in the App Store soon, but that it's already been approved by the higher-ups at Apple.

The Google Checkout payment gateway has been available in the US for four years, but Australian online shoppers have been denied the service up until the launch of Google Voice, which uses Checkout to add credit to an account.

Google made a news splash when it introduced a new VoIP functionality to Gmail yesterday. Gmail users based in the United States can now dial other Gmail users and accept calls from them right from their computer-a seemingly cool feature and thrifty alternative to placing long-distance calls (international rates start at 2 cents per minute).

Google on Thursday introduced a tool for easily sending links from its Chrome browser on a PC to an Android phone, and added 12 more voice-activated actions to the Voice Search tool in Android 2.2.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both declined comment today on a report that the agencies may investigate Apple over antitrust charges linked to its ban of rival development tools for iPhone and iPad software.

Yesterday, search giant Google released a critical new component in its mobile-voice strategy, Google Voice applications for both its own Android mobile OS and the BlackBerry platform. Like the invite-only Google Voice service, the new apps are free. And they go a long ways toward making Google Voice a viable everyday calling solution. But a few key shortcomings need to be addressed before I can consider fully embracing Google Voice.