Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., has stepped down as chairman as the company announced a $250-million earnings restatement relating to mistakes in how it granted stock options in the past.

RIM said it found no intentional misconduct by executives, directors or other employees responsible for administering options grants. However, the restatement, which affects the period from 2004 to the first quarter of 2007, is much larger than the company initially estimated.

Virtual Management, a provider of voice-based services, announced a new technology that will allow users to listen to and compose emails from the road.

Virtual Management’s signature product, EVA (Electronic Virtual Assistant), is a voice-based data-entry system designed for road warriors that allows users to dictate important information such as scheduled events and meetings, as well as manage their data storage and retrieval options while away from the office or computer.

Lexar announced the upcoming availability of new multi- and combo-packs of Kodak-branded removable memory products. Beginning in late March, Kodak SD memory cards will be available in 2-, 3- and 4-packs of 1GB cards, as well as 2-packs of 2GB cards.

In addition, consumers will be able to purchase a combination package that includes both a Kodak 2GB SD card and a compact Kodak 128MB Picture Card UFC Drive, an innovative form factor developed by Lexar that serves as both a memory card and a USB flash drive.

Lexar announced that it has increased the capacity of its popular Platinum II memory card line-up by introducing a Platinum II 4GB CF card and Platinum II 2GB and 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo flash cards. These new cards are designed for those who utilize the functionality of prosumer digital SLRs and popular point-and-shoot digital cameras for capturing still images and videos.

Customers purchasing the Platinum II 4GB CF card can also download a comprehensive software suite that includes Image Rescue 3, Corel Snapfire Plus SE, and Lexar Backup n Sync powered by Sharpcast.

Sony will unveil “Home,” an online network for its new PlayStation 3, which supports streaming video and advertising and will host virtual characters in common areas and private rooms.

Sony also will preview “LittleBigPlanet”–a game where users play, create and share what they build with other worldwide PS3 users–at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco.

Nokia announced two new services to help mobile operators and marketers realize the potential of advertising on mobile phones.

As mobile operators look toward offering more data services on their networks, they are quickly realizing that there is a lot of money to be made in advertising–a new revenue stream that could offset the heavy losses they are experiencing in their voice businesses. Operators also see advertising as a way to support new creative content.

A new version of Apple’s iTunes software released Monday addresses a number of compatibility issues with Microsoft’s Windows Vista, but a few problems remain.

The updated version supports the upcoming Apple TV product and includes an improved album-sorting feature, but still does not fully support Windows Vista.

Fujitsu Computer Systems wants it customers to think thin. The company announced that its latest notebook, the four-pound Lifebook S2210, is now available.

The notebook, which is based on dual-core Turion processors from Advanced Micro Devices, is being marketed to enterprise customers looking for a lightweight notebook to take on the road, the company said in a statement. In addition to weighing only four pounds, it comes with a 13.3-inch display.

Kingston announced its new DataTraveler Reader, a USB 2.0 Flash memory drive that provides up to 4GB of Flash storage, and includes an onboard SD/MMC expansion slot for reading nine different Flash memory card formats, including the new SDHC (Secure Digital High-Capacity) format.

Available in storage capacities of 1GB, 2GB and 4GB, the Kingston DataTraveler Reader is compatible with both Mac (OS 10.x or higher) and Windows (2000, XP and Vista) platforms. The new USB reader is compatible with SD, SDHC, miniSD, microSD, MMC, MMCplus, RS-MMC, MMCmobile and MMCmicro card formats.

Kingston announced it will expand its line of SDHC (Secure Digital High-Capacity) memory cards with the introduction of three new 8GB cards available in Class 2, 4 and 6 speed ratings as well as two new 4GB SDHC cards in Class 4 and 6 speeds, to maximize the performance of today’s higher resolution imaging devices, that include digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs, MP3 players and more.