July 2 - 4:05pm EDT   Packard Bell has recently updated its imedia series of desktops with a 60 percent smaller footprint and a matte chassis and soft curves along with a glowing blue power button. Buyers can pick from a range of processors, including Intel Core 2 Quad or AMD Phenom II X4 quad-core chips, and option up to 8GB of RAM. Storage space can be as large as 1TB, and there is an optional Blu-ray drive. [full story]

June 30 - 9:05am EDT   Dell today formalized the launch of the Vostro 1220, its smallest full-fledged notebook to bear the name. The 12-inch system isn't Dell's thinnest at up to 1.5 inches thick but is light, at under 3.4 pounds, and has room for high-end components. A fully-loaded 1220 can take up to a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo, 8GB of RAM and a Blu-ray combo drive; in a rarity for Dell, it also has the option of Clearwire- and Sprint-friendly internal WiMAX. [full story]

June 29 - 12:25pm EDT   Gateway has quietly updated its P series FX gaming notebooks with a pair of updated and lower-cost models compared to what it's offered in the past. The 17-inch P-7809u is new and has a Montevina refresh-era 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo despite costing less than the earlier P-7805u. It also has a full 500GB of hard drive space (up from 320GB), 4GB of RAM and the previously-used 1GB GeForce 9800M key to its gaming credentials. [full story]

June 29 - 7:30am EDT   Intel may be accelerating the launch of its first 32 nanometer desktop parts to this year if claims circulated by mainboard producers are accurate. Its first dual-core processors based on the most recent Nehalem architecture, nicknamed Clarkdale, was originally thought to be shipping in early 2010 but is now said by DigiTimes to be releasing these processors late this year. Production would be limited at first but would already have 32nm chips overtaking Core 2 Quad processors in terms of volume. [full story]

June 26 - 10:55am EDT   Acer on Friday announced it has redesigned its Acer Aspire M5, M3 and X3 Series of consumer desktops, including the high-end Aspire M5800 with its brushed metal chassis, the value-oriented Aspire M3800 and the small form factor Acer Aspire X3810. The Aspire M5800 sports a silver chassis that matches the keyboard, speakers and mouse, with all featuring chrome and dark gray accents. The card reader, audio jacks and USB ports are on behind a hinged door on the front of the chassis. [full story]

June 25 - 8:30am EDT   Gateway has quickly followed up on its desktop news with the addition of a relatively high-style but more frugal notebook line intended for the back-to-school audience. The NV series has a minimalist, glossy design with a relatively sturdy barrel hinge and touch-sensitive shortcut keys. At the same time, the notebooks keep costs down with a 15.6-inch, 1366x768 (but LED-backlit) display and lower-end AMD or Intel mobile chips. [full story]

June 23 - 8:15am EDT   Lenovo on Tuesday launched an anticipated refinement of one of its most important notebooks in the ThinkPad T400s. The 14-inch notebook takes advantage of both an LED-backlit display as well as the same, small and light drive cage used in the X301 to shrink both the thickness and weight of the T400 without compromising its feature set. It measures just over 0.8 inches thick and is 20 percent lighter at just under 4 pounds, but can still fit a DVD or Blu-ray drive as well as regular Core 2 Duo notebook processors. [full story]

June 22 - 9:40am EDT   Acer on Monday added three 16:9 ratio notebooks to its media-centric Gemstone Blue designs that all focus on price over raw performance. The 15.6-inch, LED-backlit Aspire 5739G is the fastest of the trio with a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, an 8X Blu-ray drive and a GeForce GT 130M for video. It comes with a multi-touch trackpad and ships at the end of June for a particularly low $750, making it the least expensive new Blu-ray notebook today. [full story]

June 19 - 12:10pm EDT   Dell is planning to introduce a fourth, smaller Vostro notebook for the near future, a leak shows. The Vostro 1220 as seen by Engadget would have a thick but small profile with a 12-inch screen and, like larger models, get the option of a red shell. This bulk will also afford room for ExpressCard and SD card slots as well as a fingerprint reader. [full story]

June 18 - 9:25pm EDT   Sony at a Blu-ray focused event tonight launched the VAIO NW, a major overhaul of its entry-level notebook. The system has the distinction of being one of the least expensive systems with Blu-ray and has an unusual 15.5-inch, 1366x768 display that can show most HD movies at their native ratio. A textured lid and a translucent trackpad also lend it a designer look. [full story]

June 18 - 2:20pm EDT   Intel is having enough success with its 32 nanometer manufacturing process that it plans to skip certain 45nm processors entirely, tips from within the mainboard industry. Rather than produce Havendale, the 45nm dual-core, desktop processor based on the Nehalem architecture, the company is purportedly ready to skip to its 32nm equivalent, Clarkdale. The new chips would arrive slightly later, in early 2010 instead of late 2009, and would be priced between $60 and $190 depending on clock speed and features. [full story]

June 17 - 4:00pm EDT   Intel's corporate communications manager Bill Calder, in a Wednesday post on the company's corporate blog, informed readers of forthcoming changes in the chipmaker's brand structure. Calder admits Intel's current complex structure has too many platform brands, and product names and brands, which confuses customers. This will start with leading with Intel and what it has done for technology, with Calder pointing to the company's Sponsors of Tomorrow ad campaign. [full story]

June 15 - 3:25pm EDT   New rumors from the mainboard industry today hint that Intel is poised to update its top-end desktop processor once more this year while also updating its Celerons earlier in the year. Currently topping out with the 3.06GHz Core i7 950, the fall should see that model replaced by the 3.2GHz Core i7 960. Its amount of cache and other features aren't expected by DigiTimes to change, but it should represent the first time a home, non-Extreme desktop processor from Intel has reached 3.2GHz and should be much faster than the similarly-clocked Core 2 Extreme. [full story]

June 12 - 1:30pm EDT   MSI's flagship X-Slim series notebook, the MSI X600, has received specs for two of its variations today through a new leak. The company has previously only released teasers of the specifications for the notebook PC, which is meant to compete with the MacBook Air. The 15.6-inch notebook sports a 1366x768 resolution and is powered by Intel's CULV platform, in a package that is less than one-inch thick. [full story]

June 11 - 3:45pm EDT   New images show there may soon be an addition to Lenovo's ThinkPad T400 notebook range with a new, slimmer model, the T400s. Its 0.83-inch thickness represents a noticeable reduction from the T400's 1.12-inch design. Specs will be shared with the range, according to SOBlog, including a choice of 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a 14.1-inch, LED-backlit display with a 1440x900 resolution. Due to the T400s' slimness, users won't be able to upgrade from Intel's integrated 4500MHD graphics processor, however. [full story]