June 24 - 10:30am EDT   The first fruits of the Intel-Nokia partnership could come within a matter of weeks, the Taiwan-area Commercial Times newspaper claimed today. Stating the rumor as fact, it insists that reports of Nokia netbooks are true and that a portable based on Intel Atom chips could come as soon as this summer. Its details aren't known, but Quanta would be contracted to build the computer. [full story]

May 19 - 5:10pm EDT   NVIDIA's insurance company, The National Union Fire Insurance Company (NUFI) of Pittsburgh, filed a case in a California district court last week regarding NVIDIA's negotiations and settlement of other lawsuits the company faced from notebook makers regarding NVIDIA's faulty chipsets. In its court statement, NUFI said NVIDIA has "not permitted" it to join in NVIDIA's negotiations of chip claims or to reach other agreements. NVIDIA supplied GPUs to notebook makers that include Apple, ASUS, Compal, Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, Toshiba, Quanta, Samsung and others, some of which have or still can sue the chipmaker. [full story]

April 30 - 2:40pm EDT   Acer today potentially spoiled Microsoft's Windows 7 launch plans by revealing a launch date for the operating system. The PC builder now says to Pocket-lint that the OS will be available on October 23rd and come in time for a new all-in-one nettop from Acer, the Z5600, to come preloaded with the software. Systems will also ship as early as late September for a hands-on experience, and those who buy a system 30 days before Windows 7 releases will get a free upgrade to the new platform. [full story]

April 22 - 4:25pm EDT   DigiTimes reported on Wednesday that Compal Electronics reduced the budget and other resources for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) as the company believes the future of the market segment is uncertain. The report cites unnamed industry sources for the information, and Compal itself has confirmed that some of its MID focus was shifted into netbook development. It will continue to ship MIDs in smaller volumes. [full story]

April 17 - 3:35pm EDT   Google's open-source Android operating system thus far used only in cellphones will soon expand and run a set-top box built by Motorola, according to a Thursday report. Japanese Internet service provider KDDI will market and sell the set-top, which will be capable of playing content on CDs and DVDs, transferring music and video to mobile devices and rip and store files on its integrated or connected hard drive. Previously, Motorola used a pure Linux interface for its au Box, though both it and Android are open-source. [full story]

April 15 - 7:35am EDT   Dell's upcoming Inspiron Mini 11 ultraportable should ship in mid-summer, Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper hints. Although the specific model isn't mentioned by name, PC assembly contractor Compal is claimed to have received orders for a Dell "ultra-thin notebook" using Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors that will be delivered in August, matching the description of the portable. Lenovo and Toshiba may also pick Compal to build CULV systems. [full story]

April 6 - 9:05am EDT   Taiwanese notebook, monitor and digital media center maker Compal Communications is reported to be developing Android platform-based netbooks, maintains a Monday Digitimes report. The website references China's daily newspaper, the Commercial Times, as the source of the rumored news. Compal is also apparently involved in talks with several unnamed notebook sellers to help with the distribution of the upcoming product. [full story]

March 31 - 9:00pm EDT   HP is expected to introduce a few 13.3-inch notebooks equipped with Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors in the second quarter, industry sources indicate, according to a Tuesday DigiTimes report. The most likely suppliers of the low-voltage chips to HP will be Quanta or Compal, or both, as they are the main manufacturers of CULV chips. Acer has similar plans for 13.3-inch CULV processors, though it has not narrowed down its supplier. An 11.6-inch Acer notebook with a CULV CPU is due out in April, with Quanta supplying the processor. [full story]

February 27 - 4:20pm EST   Notebook builders in the Taiwan area have reportedly said on Friday that Nokia is in the early stages of assembling partners for a possible entry into netbooks. The Finnish company is believed to be considering either Compal or Foxconn, both well-known contractors for notebooks, as likely manufacturing partners; it's also still debating whether it should use Intel's familiar Atom processor for the computer or else use the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon, which would have 1080p video support that Atom currently lacks. [full story]

February 25 - 12:05pm EST   Microsoft could have Windows 7 on shipping PCs by September, Compal president Ray Chen said today at an investor's conference. The PC contractor executive understands from plans that the software should be available in either late September or early October. The news would corroborate word of an April release candidate that would let Microsoft finish, manufacture and deliver Windows 7 well ahead of the holidays. [full story]

January 22 - 3:45pm EST   Computer and peripherals maker Acer is reportedly thinking of stopping shipments of its 8.9-inch Aspire netbook to make room for the soon-to-be-released 10.1-inch Aspire One 103 model. The 103 is due out in February, and while the timing of the 8.9-inch netbook's phase-out was not definitively announced, it is due to happen sometime in the second quarter of the year. [full story]

November 28 - 1:20pm EST   Taiwan's Compal Communications will manufacture two handsets for Motorola, codenamed the Atila and Alexander, according to a Friday report. More importantly, the report reveals that shipments of the phones will allegedly be delayed from the original fourth quarter of 2008 launch to the first quarter of 2009. Both cellphones will use the Windows Mobile operating system, support 3G data networks and have built-in Wi-Fi modules. [full story]

April 9 - 10:40am EDT   Dell will be next to join the ranks of companies building micro notebooks, according to a claim made by one of its assemblers. An official from Taiwan-based Compal says that his company will produce between 200,000 and 300,000 "low-cost" notebooks a month for Dell starting sometime in 2008, with as many as one to two million readied by the end of the year. The unnamed executive doesn't provide details of the systems but notes that Compal could boost production if demand proves high. [full story]