Hasta La Gadget!

The iPhone 5 already proved Apple’s desire to move away from existing processor designs and exert more control over these fundamental components. Is it too crazy to imagine that Cupertino would like the same sense of freedom with its laptops? Perhaps not, especially since the biggest company in the world just hired a guy called Jim Mergard, who helped to pioneer AMD’s low-power Brazos netbook chips and who had only recently moved to Samsung. A former colleague of Mergard’s, Patrick Moorhead, told the WSJ that he would be “very capable of pulling together internal and external resources to do a PC processor for Apple” — possibly based on a mobile-style SoC (system-on-chip) rather than a traditional PC approach. That’s pure speculation of course, but funnily enough it’s where Intel seems to be headed too.

Filed under: Laptops, Apple, Samsung, AMD

Low-power chip guru quits Samsung for Apple, with heavily implied implications originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio has updated its PC range with a pair of touch-capable all-in-ones, adding 10-finger multitouch to ready them for Windows 8, while also tweaking its notebooks with new trackpads. The new 24- and 27-inch All-in-One Touch PC models offer Intel Core processors, like their non-touch brethren we reviewed recently, as well as 1080p Full HD displays and 2.1 audio systems.

NVIDIA GeForce graphics using Kepler GPUs will be optional for some of the AIOs, while all will have SRS Premium Sound HD. The new models will be priced from $998, and they’ll be bloatware-free as Vizio has inked a deal with Microsoft to make them part of the Signature program.

As for the newly-updated notebooks and ultraportables, they’ll gain a new multitouch trackpad which supports all of Windows 8′s gestures and taps. Intel’s third-gen Core processors are inside, just as with the desktops, and there are options for 14-, 15.6-inch Think + Light Ultrabook and 15.6-inch Notebook depending on your bag capacity and bank balance.

The Vizio Thin + Light range kicks off at $849, while the 15.6-inch Full HD Notebook starts from $1,129. Like the AIO PC they’re part of the Signature program and so bloatware-free.

Vizio adds 10-finger multitouch to All-in-One PCs for Windows 8 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

For the first time since the dot-com bust 11 years ago, PC shipments are expected to decline 1.2% from last year, with an anticipated drop from 2011′s 352.8 million units to 348.7 million units. PC sales have been lagging all year, with a recent study showing that out of the top four vendors, only Lenovo experienced an increase in sales. While disconcerting, the hope that back-to-school sales would boost the numbers, as is usually the case, kept everyone optimistic.

Earlier in 2012, as Intel showed off a variety of ultrabooks and the first glimpses of Windows 8 emerged at CES, the industry was hopeful that sales would increase as the year went on. Analysts believed that the innovation displayed would go on to drag lagging PC sales back up, and that all would be well. When the Q1 data came in and showed poor sales, nervousness arose, but optimism was still prevalent.

Now, as Q3 reports come in showing dismal sales and analysts anticipate the worst year of PC sales since 2001, many wonder what the future holds for the PC market. Windows 8 has the potential to boost PC sales, but few are willing to offer more than guarded speculation about how much of a boon the much-anticipated OS could be. Windows 8 will be available October 26th.

The reasons for lagging PC sales are two-fold. First and foremost, the economic downturn has caused many consumers to reevaluate whether computers – and gadgets in general – are within their budget, while many are electing to use their computers for longer durations before updating. The other issue, which could have lasting effects on the market, is the increased sale and proliferation of mobile gadgets. As smartphones and tablets become cheaper and more powerful, many are electing to eschew PCs, or to hold onto older hardware and fill the gaps with mobile gadgets.

[via iSuppli]

PC sales to decline in 2012 for the first time in 11 years is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We don’t often summarize market share in one word, but: ouch. Both Gartner and IDC have trotted out their preliminary estimates for PC market share in the third quarter, and the two agree that this summer was a dire one for the traditional computer. Outside of ASUS and Lenovo, whose price-focused strategies and key acquisitions kept them ahead of rivals, virtually every major vendor saw its PC shipments collapse versus a year ago, often by more than 10 percent. Total worldwide shipments declined by more than 8 percent in either estimate — enough to make a flat second quarter seem rosy by comparison. Lenovo took the top spot in Gartner’s study, although IDC is counting workstations and kept HP in its usual lead.

As for the US, it’s almost better that we don’t look. Gartner and IDC believe that the American market sank by respective 13.8 or 12.4 percent amounts, and the steep global declines repeated themselves in the one country for everyone but Lenovo. Even a market share gain for Apple came only because its shipments dropped at a gentler rate than most of its peers. Whether it’s the US or worldwide, don’t assume that inventory clearances ahead of Windows 8 were the only factors at work, though. Both research teams point to continuing world economic troubles as influences, and IDC contends that buyers are still skipping PCs in favor of smartphones and mobile tablets. There’s often a jump in computer sales between the summer and the fall, especially with a new OS on the way, but we wouldn’t count on a return to the halcyon days.

Continue reading Gartner and IDC: PC shipments tumbled over 8 percent in Q3, only ASUS and Lenovo escaped unhurt

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple, Microsoft, ASUS, HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo

Gartner and IDC: PC shipments tumbled over 8 percent in Q3, only ASUS and Lenovo escaped unhurt originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re thinking about getting in on the Windows Phone 8 game, you’ll likely be considering pre-ordering in the latter half of this month, with October 21st being the first of several waves of device pre-order announcements. What we’re to understand from sources speaking with The Verge is that AT&T and Microsoft have shook hands on October 21st for pre-order starts on several devices. The first two of these device releases will be the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, both of which will be popping up on AT&T right out of the gate.

This set of announcements also includes word on the Samsung Ativ Smart PC as well as the Asus Vivo Tab RT, both of which will be appearing with AT&T as well. Both of these devices work with a form of Windows 8, an operating system that’ll be coming out later this month as well. Microsoft is bringing on Windows 8 right alongside Windows RT, the system which will appear on the Asus device, it being a tablet-oriented version of Windows 8 to tie the whole galaxy together.

November will contain a rush of device availabilities for Microsoft’s new set of operating systems, with AT&T carrying several devices and at least one for each different OS. Windows Phone 8 will lead the pack at AT&T of course, but they’ll also be pushing for the whole desktop and mobile experience with several data-connected notebooks and tablet. AT&T’s notebooks and tablets with Windows 8 or Windows RT will be popping up on the 26th of October.

Have a peek at our timeline of AT&T releases working with Windows Phone 8 as well as Windows 8 and Windows RT. They very much appear to be all-in as far as Microsoft’s wave of “8″ software hits the market, several manufacturers coming along for the ride – stay tuned for more!

Windows Phone 8 pre-orders tipped for October 21st is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.