It’s not just the bullets that are getting smarter. As the US military pushes for deeper technological integration in its fighting forces, more and more bandwidth and computing power will be needed to keep everything connected. Dell’s new self-contained server rooms will turn even the most remote Forward Operating Base into an impromptu data center. More »
Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer might be working overtime to keep Apple at bay, but the PC market that his company largely built is hurting, if you ask researchers at Gartner and IDC. Both estimate that shipments of traditional computers dropped by a tenth of a point in the second quarter of 2012 — not a good sign when Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and a wave of Ultrabooks were supposed to usher in a PC renaissance. While the exact numbers vary, the two paint a partly familiar picture of the world stage: HP and Dell are taking a bruising, while ASUS and Lenovo are making huge leaps forward. Depending on who you ask, though, Acer is either kicking Dell down to fourth place or occupying that all too comfortable spot itself. The economy and tablets are once again blamed for making would-be PC upgraders jittery, although this time it may also be the wait for Windows 8 leading some to hold off.
If there’s a point of contention, it’s the US figures. Gartner and IDC alike agree that Acer, Dell and HP all took a drubbing. The two analyst groups are at odds with each other when it comes to everyone else, though. Apple will have gained market share to as much as 12 percent, but either increased or shrank its shipments; it’s Lenovo or Toshiba completing the top five outside of the usual suspects. Accordingly, take results with a grain of salt until all the PC builders have reported in. Nonetheless, if the groups have the same reasonable level of precision as they’ve had in the past, Microsoft may have to defer its ambitions for a little while longer.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs
IDC and Gartner: PC market flattened out in Q2 while Apple, ASUS and Lenovo remain the stars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LogicBUY has started offering the Dell Optiplex 390 Mini Tower bundled with a 24-inch Dell UltraSharp LCD monitor. Priced at $707.97, the desktop PC features a 3.1GHz Core i5-2400 quad-core processor, an Intel HD 2000 graphics, a 4GB RAM, a 500GB hard disk drive, a 16x DVD ROM and a bundled keyboard/mouse. The 24-inch Dell U2412M UltraSharp IPS panel LCD monitor provides a 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. The Dell Optiplex 390 runs on the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. [LogicBUY via Newlaunches]
In an LCD panel price fixing tiff that’s been raging on for what seems like time incarnate, Sharp has settled with Dell and two unnamed companies for $198.5 million to make it go away. Japanese panel makers like LG, Samsung and Toshiba are also defendants in the legal dragnet, and numerous fines and settlements totaling more than a billion dollars have already been paid out to the likes of AT&T and the US Department of Justice. This decision comes hot on the heels of an $87 million setback in court for Toshiba — a ruling that may have taken the edge off of Sharp’s defense.
Sharp settles LCD price fixing dispute with Dell and others for $200 million originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
LogicBUY has started selling the Dell Inspiron One 2330 all-in-one PC. Priced at $749.99, the computer comes jam packed with a 23-inch Full HD 1080p display (non-touchscreen), which is combined with a powerful Intel i7 “Ivy Bridge” processor, a 1GB AMD Radeon HD 7650A graphics, USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI input and an integrated Blu-ray drive. The Dell Inspiron One 2330 all-in-one PC retails for $749. Each purchase comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Premiere Elements 9.0 and 90-day Premium Phone Support. [LogicBUY]
According to the folks over at DigiTimes, HP and Dell will be launching Windows RT tablets in the fourth quarter of 2012 – however, we’ve previously reported about HP confirming that they will not be releasing Windows RT tablets initially which casts some doubt on DigiTime’s story. However, if it turns out to be half true, we’ll be seeing Dell Windows RT tablets powered by Qualcomm processors later this year.
In addition to its reports about HP and Dell, it claims that Acer, Sony and Samsung will be in on the Windows RT tablet game as well, though the latter two companies are said to be conservative about it. As usual, we should take DigiTimes rumors with a pinch of salt – so stay tuned for more details in the future.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HP Pulls Out From Windows RT Tablet Race [Confirmed], Dell Latitude 10 has more information detailed,
Dell has today announced that it will be purchasing Quest, a company that provides IT management software for businesses. Dell looks to be stocking up on software solutions in order to differentiate itself from its competitors and add to a growing patent portfolio. The acquisition of Quest means that Dell will be able to expands its software to in systems management, security, data protection, and workspace management.
Dell currently has its own security solutions, such as SonicWALL and Secureworks, but Quest’s One Identity and Access Management software will add on top of those products. Quest’s Performance Monitoring, meanwhile, is said to be one of the best performance monitoring solutions for keeping track of workloads and performance issues.
In addition, Quest has a Windows Server management tool that will fit into Dell’s services, plus Database Management that slots in nicely with enterprise solutions. Dell will swallow up a business close to turning over a billion dollars in annual revenue, and add around 1,500 software sales experts plus 1,300 software developers.
Dell will be paying $28 per share for a total purchase price of $2.4 billion. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year pending customary closing procedures and approval by Quest’s shareholders.
Dell to purchase Quest for $2.4 billion is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
So you own a Dell Venue Pro, one of the first Windows Phone-powered smartphones in the market, which has aged rather gracefully I might add at nearly 2 years old. While you are mulling over whether to ditch this old faithful and settle for one of the more fluid Lumia devices from Nokia, you might want to hold on to your horses for a while. After all, one user in Germany did report that his Dell Venue Pro has already received the Windows Phone Tango update, and others in his stead ought to follow suit shortly afterwards.
Nice to know that a phone which is nearly a couple of years old is still on the receiving end of the latest updates. It is important to note that this is not the Windows Phone 7.8 update which was promised to existing Windows Phone 7.5 devices, and there are no promises that this device will be on the receiving end of that update. Still, it is nice to see Dell update a two year-old antique (by consumer electronics standards, that is).
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: AT&T Dell Venue Pro Mango update finally arrives, Dell Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 NoDo update now live,
Dell has certainly done its part to be worth checking out as a major force when it comes to computer hardware, and their notebooks have been pretty spiffy all this while. Having said that, Dell has worked to expand the XPS laptop family by introducing two models – the Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook and Dell XPS 15. We shall definitely take a closer look at both machines, and first of all, there is the Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook which is said to offer outstanding performance that comes in an extremely mobile package.
The Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook will come in a couple of configurations – although both of them will come in a highly-durable machined aluminum chassis alongside an innovative silicone base, with the entire design measuring just 20.7mm thin. Not only that, it comes with a brilliantly bright 14″ 400 nit HD+ edge-to-edge display, a backlit keyboard that comes in handy when you want to work in the dark or in low light conditions, and optional performance graphics, with up to 11 hours of battery life that Dell claims is the longest battery life of any Ultrabook in the market right now, for its class, of course.
Apart from that, you can opt for a traditional 500GB hard drive to work in tandem with a solid state drive in the form of a 32GB mSATA card. There is also the Intel Rapid Start and Smart Response technologies, where the former lets you achieve super fast boot-up and hibernate response times, while the latter is able to recognize and cache the most frequently used files and applications in a flash, letting you experience far more uptime and being more productive than ever before instead of playing the waiting game.
As for the Dell XPS 15, this is a thin powerhouse device that is said to deliver performance, graphics and screen resolution for creativity and entertainment’s sake. Sporting a stunning, vivid, edge-to-edge display which is said to be up to 75% brighter compared to standard panels, the Dell XPS 15 also comes with powerful NVIDIA graphics as a standard, a backlit keyboard like the XPS 14 Ultrabook, an optional integrated slot load Blu-ray disc drive, and up to 1TB of hard drive space alongside a 32GB or 128GB mSATA card option.
The Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook will start from $1,099 upwards, while the Dell XPS 15 has a higher starting price of $1,299 and above.
[ Dell XPS laptop family expanded, offers new options copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
If you’re a fan of Dell’s XPS 13 but want something a little bigger with extra connectivity, the newly announced XPS 14 and 15 might just be for you. Both laptops have seen a redesign that sees the chassis’ making use of aluminium while giving the models a much needed thinner profile, and you can expect to see the latest internals with Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors and optional discrete NVIDIA graphics.
The base model of the XPS 14 will come with a 400-nit brightness 1600×900 display, an Intel Core i5 processor with HD 4000 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. Just about everything can be configured, so you can bump the CPU up to a Core i7, the RAM up to 8GB, add in NVIDIA’s GT 630M GPU, and swap out the standard hard drive for a 512GB SSD at the top end. Ports for the laptop includes two USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and an SD card slot. Overall thickness isn’t too bad at 0.81-inches, and all in all it weighs around 4.6lbs.
The XPS 15, meanwhile, adds in an optical drive and a few additional ports, but thickness increases to 0.91-inches and weight to 5.79lbs. The base configuration comes with a Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GT 630M GPU, 6GB of RAM, 1920×1080 display and a 500GB hard drive with a DVD optical drive. The maxed out XPS 15 includes a quad-core Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GT 640M graphics, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage plus a 128GB mSATA, and a Blu-ray drive.
Both the XPS 14 and 15 are available to order starting from today. The XPS 14 pricing starts from $1,099, while the XPS 15 will start at $1,299. If you spec out both models to their maximum, expect the price to hit a cool $1,999. If you’re in the UK, the XPS 14 starts from £1,049 while the XPS 15 starts at £1,149.
Dell unveils new XPS 14 and XPS 15: Hands-on is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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