The two companies warring over the popular BlackBerry device head for a courtroom showdown on Friday, when a judge begins weighing an injunction on the wireless email service. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. has argued against the injunction, noting that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is poised to reject all of challenger NTP Inc.’s patents. Indeed, the agency this week rejected the first of five patents closely tied to the court case. U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer previously had said he was unwilling to delay his proceedings while awaiting final word from the agency. But the speedier moves from the patent office have some attorneys wondering whether Spencer will be swayed.

Panda Software released the beta version of Panda MobileSecurity, the solution for protecting smartphones based on Symbian Series 60. This new tool offers real-time protection for this device against viruses, Trojans, worms, etc., thanks to its system for scanning the internal memory, memory cards or the entire system. The product will include, in the final version, automatic updates and a complete support service, including SOS Virus, where suspicious files can be sent for analysis.

Vodafone Australia and Research In Motion announced the launch of the BlackBerry 8700v, further extending the range of BlackBerry devices available to Australian customers. The newly designed BlackBerry 8700v combines full phone functionality together with support for wireless email, Internet, text messaging, organizer and data applications and will be available from Vodafone Australia beginning March 1, 2006.

Optus and Research In Motion introduced the BlackBerry 8700g in Australia. Operating on Optus’ network, the quad-band BlackBerry 8700g provides the ultimate balance of performance, design and function and features a completely re-engineered device platform with an Intel processor, 64 MB flash memory and 16 MB SDRAM in a stylish handset with a full QWERTY keyboard. The BlackBerry 8700g features a bright, high resolution QVGA (320×240) LCD screen that supports more than 65,000 colors and delivers vivid graphics.

Datastick Systems announced its first customer shipment of the VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer, the first PDA-based vibration analyzer to provide open, non-proprietary desktop PC software built on a foundation of Microsoft Excel. The system includes the new Datastick VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer module that attaches securely to select PDAs running Palm OS, new Datastick Spectrum handheld software that collects and stores vibration measurements while displaying them in time waveforms and FFT spectra complete with alarm levels, and Datastick Reporting System software for PCs, which is based on Microsoft Excel. Vibration data from the PDA exports to the PC with a single press of a button and loads into the DRS workbook on the PC with two mouse-clicks.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a final rejection of one of the five patents at issue in NTP’s long-running case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. The final rejection was posted on the Patent Office’s Web site for the NTP-held patent, which covers a system for sending emails over a wireless network to a mobile device. The Patent Office has already issued nonfinal actions rejecting the claims in four out of the five NTP patents in question, but a final rejection is required before the appeals process can begin. RIM issued a statement confirming it had received the final action and said it expects the rejections to withstand future NTP appeals.

BoxWave announced the Armor Case for Palm Z22. Armor Case is a form-fitting, trendy aluminum case that is designed to fit your Palm Z22 perfectly. It’s exterior is made of anodized aluminum that is strong yet lightweight while the interior is padded with a layer of foam for optimal security. While Armor Case works to protect your Palm Z22 from everyday wear and tear, its accessible openings give quick access to the stylus, memory slot, headphone jack, IR port, and charging/synchronization port.

Fiddling around with in-car satellite navigation systems is causing motorists to lose concentration on the road, according to a survey on Tuesday. The new technology, rather than helping motorists, could be even more distracting than trying to read a map at the wheel, it added. One in 10 motorists with navigation systems set off on their journeys without bothering to program their route, and more than half admitted they had then had to take their eyes off the road to input the details while driving.

The researchers at HP Labs are a serious bunch working on ways to create the data centers and transistors of the future–but the company sees no harm in going after the gaming-table market on the side. During an open house Tuesday celebrating its 40th anniversary, HP Labs showed off Misto, the hybrid of coffee table and tablet PC that promises to either entertain or rile up family members next Thanksgiving. HP has been working on Misto as a slightly different take on the home entertainment PC. Misto is a coffee table with a large touch-screen display built into the top of the table. The idea is to allow a group to congregate around the table and share pictures, play board games, or peruse a map. Misto uses a standard desktop PC as its engine, but comes with some specialized HP software for managing the interface.

Bouygues Telecom and Research In Motion announced the availability of the BlackBerry 8700g in France. The BlackBerry 8700g features a completely re-engineered device platform that combines with Bouygues Telecom’s nationwide high-speed EDGE network to enable faster Web browsing, application performance and attachment viewing. The BlackBerry 8700g is a quad-band device, compatible with GSM, GPRS and EDGE networks.