I seeing something very similar. I'm running the 2.1.4 (214017) version of NR on an early Intel iMac (Core Duo processor, 32-bit only). I upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6.1). The software doesn't seem to be talking to the NR mobile scanner, and the Software Update feature is non-functional. What I'm seeing is consistent with a time-out, but don't know for sure.
I'd be willing to try an update to 2.1.9, if I could get a link to the download.