May 16 - 10:40am EDT   The top-ranking online electronics stores continue to be dominated by Apple and other specialized sites, according to a new study by ForeSee Results. Both Apple and hobbyist computer store Newegg have tied each other for the highest satisfiaction scores in an examination of the top 100 shops in the US, each reaching the 80-point threshold ForeSee says is necessary to be considered "superior." The company doesn't provide specifics as to why these two topped the charts but notes that its rankings are based on both the actual ease of use of the site as well as the ability to find stock and get it at the right price. [full story]

May 14 - 12:35pm EDT   Dell has no plans to eliminate its XPS line of computers, a company representative says. On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Dell intends to phase out four of its XPS gaming systems, on the basis that they are eating into sales of its newly-bought Alienware division. Dell is said to be in tough financial circumstances, having lost its former dominance in PC sales to chief rival HP. In April the company revealed plans to fire at least 8,800 people, and close its desktop manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas. [full story]

May 13 - 1:20pm EDT   Swedish telecom company Ericsson is collaborating with Dell, in a bid to put HSPA modems into the latter's notebooks, the companies have announced. HSPA is one of the most widely-used forms of 3G cellular broadband, and typically supports download speeds of up to 3.6 or 7.2Mbps; in the United States, AT&T runs a national 3.6Mbps network, and T-Mobile is expected to offer a rival service of some sort later this year. In buying a notebook with HSPA built in, users can connect to the Internet without using Wi-Fi or an add-on external modem. [full story]

May 12 - 11:35pm EDT   Next month Dell will begin phasing out four of its popular XPS gaming systems, in favor of the high-end PCs that are part of its recently acquired Alienware PC line. The surprising move is part of its continued turnaround efforts--along with an expected design overhaul in its Inspiron line-- after slipping behind rival HP in overall PC sales and struggling to achieve profits in consumer PCs, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the focus on the Alienware line, Dell says that a combined gaming design and development unit will focus on the seven current Alienware models, which has lost some "mojo," according to one analyst. Dell also noted that the gaming market, which ... [full story]

May 9 - 3:55pm EDT   Rounding out its week, Dell today has slipped in additional processor picks for its mid-sized XPS 420 tower. The system for the first time has Intel's recent 45 nanometer, Penryn-based Core 2 Quad chips and use either a 2.5GHz or 2.66GHz model as an upgrade to the 2.4GHz, 65 nanometer chip that starts out the line. The choices are the first four-core chips based on the cooler, faster architecture since the 3GHz Core 2 Extreme was introduced to the desktop. [full story]

May 9 - 11:45am EDT   A federal judge has reinstated one of two dismissed patent disputes against Microsoft and Dell from French-American telecommunications partnership Alcatel-Lucent. CNN Money writes that the San Diego district court made an error when deciding the definition of a "terminal device", so the case is being presented again to the federal court system. The dispute is situated over a communication protocol that allows a computer and a device to exchange information. [full story]

May 6 - 2:50pm EDT   Dell this afternoon introduced a rare variant on its home notebooks. The Inspiron 1525 Mike Ming Editions each get graffiti-influenced artwork by their Brooklyn-based namesake on the outer lid, personalizing the systems beyond the solid colors and stock prints that are normally available for the 15.4-inch notebooks. Regardless of the trim level, users can either pick from the monochrome-effect "Bunch O Surfers" or the multicolored "Sea Sky." [full story]

May 2 - 9:10am EDT   Intel's existing Atom processor shortage could continue until as late as September, according to estimates made by ASUS chief Jerry Shen. While confirming that his company will announce an Atom-based version of its Eee PC 900 on schedule for June, Shen warns that Intel's shortfall will require that ASUS keep the existing Celeron M version on sale until the late summer timeframe to ensure healthy stock. [full story]

May 1 - 9:15am EDT   Dell on Thursday refreshed its very highest-end gaming desktop with the launch of the XPS 730 H2C. Like the 720 H2C it replaces, the new model earns its name through a custom watercooling arrangement that allows for factory-overclocked, quad-core Core 2 Extreme processors. The new design is more efficient than the last and includes both dynamic speed that throttles cooling down in less demanding conditions and extra fan cooling for the CPU voltage components. A new coldplate both helps cool all four CPU cores and also helps ramp up the front side bus beyond stock levels. [full story]

April 30 - 2:45pm EDT   Samsung SDI on Thursday revealed that it has developed a new lithium-ion battery that should result in significantly longer use times without compromising on size. Generating 2,800 milliamps per hour (mAh) of energy, the new technology provides as much as 10 percent more actual runtime than a typical 2,600 mAH unit. The refinements made to the battery cell also let it charge faster than earlier cells. [full story]

April 29 - 9:00am EDT   Intel has encountered a supply shortage that will prevent it from fulfilling more than half of the orders for its Atom mobile processors in the next month, according to a report in the Taiwan newspaper Apply Daily. Less than 40 percent of the semiconductor firm's requests are purportedly being met and, as a result, are expected to delay or hurt the rollouts of micro notebooks from a number of new entrants to the field, including from Acer and Dell. [full story]

April 28 - 4:35pm EDT   Late last week, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer said the software giant will stop distribution and all support of its Windows XP operating systems by June 30. Lenovo is the latest computer company to announce it will offer XP past the deadline, thanks to Microsoft's own downgrade rights for its hardware-intensive Vista Business and Vista Ultimate editions. Customers with qualified Lenovo PCs with the two Vista editions can purchase a Windows XP recovery CD until January 31, 2009. [full story]

April 25 - 2:55pm EDT   Salesforce, a major corporation responsible for developing CRM software and related products, may be on the verge of a switching all of its computers from PCs to the Mac platform, an unidentified source claims. The company is currently said to have an agreement with Dell, but as licenses expire, its IT department is allegedly planning to replace each PC with a new Mac. The reason for this is security, as the company is said to favor the extra expense of buying Macs over the even greater costs it is paying to safeguard Windows systems. Some 4,000 computers would have to be replaced. [full story]

April 22 - 9:45pm EDT   Dell today unveiled a "never before seen" environmentally conscious computer clad in bamboo, which occupies 81 percent of the space typically taken by a traditional PC tower. While specifications were sparse, Earth2Tech reveals that the computer is made of 70 percent recycled materials, such as old bottles, milk jugs, and detergent cases, and that it would be available later this year for between $500 and $700. [full story]

April 21 - 2:25pm EDT   Dell will keep using Windows XP until as late as 2012, a company representative has reportedly told users. Although Microsoft has said it would discontinue the option for XP this year in all but very low-cost notebooks, the claimed Dell message says the PC creator will continue offering XP Professional until 2012 on all its higher-end business offerings, including the Latitude, Optiplex, and Precision lineups. [full story]