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| News Bits: Dell Retail Stores, MSI S271 Notebook, AMD Aims for More Notebooks, HP Notebook Skins Article Contents | |
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Dell is venturing out into the wild and is finally going retail - to an extent. Dell's 'experiment' consists of two stores in Dallas and New York. Each store will have 3,000 square feet of space, much larger than the kiosks they have scattered in malls throughout the country. Dell plans to have about 36 products in all of that space.
There will be no inventory in the store, but customers will be able to place orders there. It may seem as Dell is drifting away from their business strategy, but Dell calls it "a physical extension of the direct model." In their minds, nothing has changed.
MSI S271 AMD dual-core powered notebook
May 23rd - MSI announced the worldwide availability of its S271 notebook, based on the AMD Turion X2 processor and an ATI chipset, the X200M. Retail price is slated to be ~$1,498 (NT$47,000).
"MSI chairman Joseph Hsu expects notebook demand in the second half to grow 30% from the first half. The company estimates its notebook sales in the second quarter to reach 150,000 units, rising from 100,000 in the first quarter. MSI aims to ship 500,000-600,000 notebooks in 2006 up from the 250,000 notebooks the company shipped in 2005."
Full specifications for the S271 are as follows:
AMD aims to take 15% of notebook market
AMD has big plans for 2006; they plan to have 12 million notebooks use their CPUs this year, about fifteen percent of the global notebook market according to industry sources.
Intel has dominated the notebook market for years, with AMD having had less than 10% of the market. However, with the recent addition of the Turion 64X2 processors to its product range, AMD is now well equipped to boost its market share, the sources commented.
Sources also revealed that over half of HP notebooks use AMD CPUs, mainly for the American and European markets. Acer's AMD notebook percentage is about thirty-five.
Could Vista be pushed back further?
During a press conference with NEC in Japan Steve Ballmer seemed to allude that the launch date for Vista could slide even further than it already has. In March, Microsoft said Vista would not be ready until January 2007, but now that could change based on how you interpret Steve Ballmer's words to NEC:
"Certainly, when Windows Vista comes to the market next year, and it will be next year, we will make sure that we make a high quality product, ship a high quality product, when it's ready.".
Microsoft is in discussions with computer manufacturers about when is the best time to ship Vista.
"What we are discussing ... with hardware partners is when they would really like it - early January, late January, February. We are on track for shipping early in the year.".
The MIT $100 laptop
The first working prototype of the MIT $100 laptop, intended for use in poorer 3rd world countries, was unveiled at the Seven Countries Task Force Meeting on May 23rd. See photos of it here.
Special thanks to forum member NB_Noob for submitting this story.
HP Notebooks now available with skins from Skinit
Skinit, Inc announced new vinyl skins for HP notebooks. "Modding" a notebook is often an expensive process, but the new vinyl skins offer a quick and inexpensive way to totally change the looks of a notebook. The skins are available for both HP and Compaq Notebook PCs in hundreds of different designs, including stock images and licensed sports and entertainment brands.
Each skin is custom cut to the model number of the computer - warranties are not affected for using one of the skins. HP skins are available here. Prices start at $7.95.
New Report shows consumer electronics/video games becoming more entrenched in kids lives
According to a report released by the NPD, kids ages 4 to 14 are using consumer electronics six months earlier than they were in the 2005 study. The report shows that both consumer electronic and video game systems are becoming more entrenched in the lives of kids today.
Dell 2400MP and 1200MP Projectors Released at competitive prices
Dell today released a couple of new projectors that can be used in conjunction with a notebook, or simply as a standalone mounted solution for displaying TV. Priced at $1,099, the Dell 2400MP is an XGA (1024x768) resolution projector and the only product in its class priced less than $1,100. It features a 3,000 ANSI lumens brightness rating and a 2,100:1 contrast ratio that enables distinct black colors. The 2400MP features Texas Instrument's new color-processing technology, BrilliantColor, which generates sharp text and accurate color reproduction even in well-lit rooms. The projector also combines DarkChip DLP Technology, BrilliantColor and high brightness to produce crisp images from a compact device weighing only 5.5 pounds.
The new 2400MP projector includes a full featured remote control and extensive connectivity including S-video, composite video, component (HDTV) video and RS-232 connectors.
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