The ThinkPad is gearing up for its return to retail, starting with a partnership between Lenovo and Office Depot. Consumers will be able to purchase either a ThinkPad Z60t wide-screen or a ThinkPad T43 with biometric fingerprint readers. Other ThinkPad products will be available online and for special order in store starting at $699, Office Depot said. The computers are expected to compete with similar designs from Office Depot’s other PC suppliers: Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Toshiba.

PDAMill has updated their cast of Pocket PC games to be compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0.

PDAMill has released Anthelion 2: Celestial Vigilance, sequel to Anthelion, their space-combat game for Pocket PCs. As a fighter-pilot for the Anthelion Federation, your job is to protect the galaxy at all costs, even if against your allies. Anthelion 2 features an incredible 3D graphics engine with VGA resolution, fast-paced space combat, an engaging story, and over half an hour of original music–all designed for the Pocket PC.

MobiMate took top honors winning the TravelMole Innovation in Mobile Technology award at the World Travel Market conference in London, coming ahead of notable nominees including LastMinute.com and TisCover. MobiMate’s WorldMate product line was selected by a panel of judges for its technological achievement in providing easy to use real-time travel services across a wide variety of mobile phones.

BrightCom announced the release of version 2.0 of VIMS (Versona Instant Messaging System). By completely eliminating the cost of a client side deployment and providing full cross-platform support, VIMS made an immediate impact since its release in May of 2004 within the instant messaging market. Version 2.0 extends the feature-rich instant messaging solution that included centralized software management, enterprise class security and directory integration by extending instant messaging with high-quality video. VIMS integration with ClearView video solutions provides instant messaging users to immediately share high-quality video and audio through their instant messaging client at a fraction of the cost of traditional video conferencing solutions.

Napster and XM Satellite Radio unveiled a beta version of a joint music offering. The new service is designed to let satellite radio subscribers access, purchase and download broadcasts on about 70 music channels available over XM, the companies said. In addition, users can access Napster’s music catalog and buy tracks from it. The XM + Napster service is available at a new Web site, to be marketed by both companies.

Apple Computer’s iTunes music store now sells more music than Tower Records or Borders, according to analyst firm the NPD Group. The research company tracks downloads from digital music stores, as well as people’s purchasing habits at offline retail stores. During the past three months, iTunes made it to the U.S. Top 10 sales list for the first time, NPD said.

It’s the holiday season, time to pick up gifts for family and friends. For you last-minute shoppers, here’s an annual list of the ten worst products of the year–as scored and reviewed by PC Magazine Labs. These may all look shiny and sharp on the shelves, but each one is fundamentally flawed.

Alltel and Palm today announced the Treo 650 will be available through Alltel retail stores starting tomorrow. The handset will cost $399.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. With Axcess Mobile Link, Alltel customers can use the Treo 650 to connect to the Internet at speeds up to 144 Kbps. Axcess Mobile Link is available for $59.99 for unlimited nationwide service.

Palm and Telecom New Zealand announced the availability of the Treo 650 on Telecom New Zealand’s CDMA network, offering users mobile email, internet and messaging capabilities. Telecom New Zealand is excited to offer its customers this truly converged device and mobile email at a compelling price, as well as to be one of the first carriers outside the United States to be able to offer its customers the Treo 650 smartphone on a CDMA network.