July 4 - 10:55am EDT   ASUS today announced the pricing of and more information on its new Eee PC 904 mini notebook, which it revealed just earlier this week. The new mini laptop PC will act as another offering in its Eee PC range, as opposed to replacing one of the existing products, like previously rumored. It will be the lowest-priced Eee PC in the range with a 9-inch screen, thanks to a combination of its chassis, screen size and hardware specs. [full story]

June 30 - 7:25pm EDT   DisplaySearch has published its latest quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, which shows that the notebook PC market grew 35% year over year in the first quarter of 2008 to 31 million units. Apple, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo all significantly outpaced the year over market growth, with Apple posting 61 percent unit growth from 891,000 units to 1.43 million units. That growth gave Apple a 4.6 percent share of the overall market, making it the seventh largest notebook vendor. [full story]

June 23 - 12:50pm EDT   TechRestore on Monday announced a 500GB overnight hard drive upgrade for MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Door-to-door nationwide service is available for the overnight turnaround. The installation includes data transfer (an exact clone) of the old drive's info and the option of having the old drive installed into a USB 2.0 enclosure for $40. The 500GB utilizes a 5,400 RPM drive mechansim. The overnight upgrade is $400 plus shipping. [full story]

June 5 - 5:15pm EDT   ASUS yesterday announced the launch of two next-generation notebook computers with the recently introducesd AMD Turion X2 Ultra dual-core mobile processors. The 15.4-inch widescreen F5Z and 14-inch F8Tr notebooks share ATI's Radeon HD 3000-series graphics cards for improved graphics and video processing. Along with the rest of the ASUS notebook range, either new notebook PC offers a proprietary operating system that grants access to programs such as Internet, email and chat programs just eight seconds after powering up the laptop. [full story]

June 3 - 5:10pm EDT   Sena Cases has announced four new slim designer notebook cases made specifically for the MacBook Air. Styles include the patent-pending Pullino Designer Case for the MacBook Air and the LeatherSkin Case which offers an ultra-slim design, and allows the device to be fully functional without removing the notebook from the case. All the cases are designed from Italian Napa Leather. The Senna Pullino Designer Case for the MacBook Air features pull-out strap for easy release of the MacBook Air and includes velvet lining to protect the device from scratches and damage. It's priced at $240. [full story]

May 29 - 5:45pm EDT   Dell has reported fiscal first quarter revenue of $16 billion, a 9 percent year-over-year increase. While net earnings of $0.38 cents per share represent a 12 percent increase, operating income was down 4 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. In a statement, Dell officials said that the results were driven by "better-than-industry growth of commercial and consumer products and services, and lower operating expense as a percent of revenue." Specifically, notebook sales skyrocketed 43 percent, a rate Dell says is 1.2 times the industry average. The consumer segment was also especially strong, with Dell claiming to grow global share of this market by 1.2 points to ... [full story]

May 5 - 10:30am EDT   The lithium-ion battery shortage caused by a fire at South Korea's LG Chem plant back in March should be over in the third quarter of the year, an executive at a notebook battery maker said on Friday. While the shortage is hurting sales of all notebooks, including the ASUS Eee PC, smaller, lower-volume companies are hurt most, as they get least priority when supplies do become available. [full story]

April 23 - 11:25pm EDT   In an attempt to establish itself as an environmentally-friendly brand while offering a stylish and unique product, ASUS last year announced bamboo-covered notebooks. Recent reports cite that the laptops include the company's 11-inch S6 series and 12-inch U6 series, appear on the Chinese market by June at prices starting at an estimated equivalent of $1,600. [full story]

April 21 - 7:25pm EDT   Promate on Monday unveiled a universal laptop back-up battery it calls the ProBattery as well as solar-powered Bluetooth car kit. The company, which makes electronics accessories that range from protective screen films for PDAs to external media drives, promises to keep laptops running for up to eight hours. To make it compatible with a wide variety of laptops, the 6600mAh Lithium Polymer battery uses a selectable 5V, 16V or 19V power output and 15 modular notebook connectors. [full story]

April 18 - 4:30pm EDT   Taiwan-based MSI recently revealed more information on its low-cost, ultra-portable laptop, the Wind Notebook. The roughly 2.2lb notebook will run on Windows XP and feature an unusually large 2.5-inch HDD with an 80GB capacity. The Wind will be offered with either an 8.9- or 10-inch LCD display, the resolution of which is pegged at 1024x600 pixels. It is expected to compete with ASUS' Eee PC 900. [full story]

April 14 - 11:25pm EDT   Apple Japan and Sony have agreed to jointly pay about 1.3 million Yen (about $13,000) in damages to settle a lawsuit filed by a Japanese couple who argued that the husband had suffered burns after their Mac caught, according to Dow Jones. The couple sued and successfully recovered damages because the fire was caused by the Sony-made battery, according to judicial sources quoted by Japan-based Kyodo News Agency. According to the report, the three parties reached the settlement on April 2, but both Sony and the Japan unit of Apple declined to comment on the settlement. [full story]

April 11 - 2:35pm EDT   ASUS on Thursday revealed its new flagship notebook from its Personal Entertainment Center line, the M70 (content coming soon). The HD-capable notebook features a 17-inch, 1920x1200-pixel resolution display and takes advantage of it with Blu-ray support and an HDMI port. ASUS' dynamic brightness technology improves image quality by reading the environment's color temperature and adjusting levels accordingly. [full story]

April 8 - 4:00am EDT   3Dconnexion today unveiled the SpaceNavigator for Notebooks, a new addition to its 3D mouse product line, ideal for mobile 3D professionals. Weighing in at half the weight of its standard SpaceNavigator mouse – around 240 grams – the notebook model gives users a refined cap design to provide more immersive and natural interactions with 3D workspaces. The ruggedly designed SpaceNavigator for Noteooks is available for $130 at many online retailers. [full story]

April 1 - 7:00pm EDT   Dell on Tuesady announced that it has plans to cut atleast 8,800 jobs as part of a three-year plan to cut costs by more than $3 billion. On Tuesday, the second-largest PC vendor said that the Texas-based company would reduce product costs across all areas, including design, manufacturing and logistics, materials and components, and operating expenses. It also said it would close its desktop manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas as it sees trends in consumer buying shifting to notebooks and an assessment in its "global manufacturing and logistics network." The shifting trend towards mobile computing was echoed by research firm Gartner, which last week predicted that ... [full story]

March 31 - 2:45pm EDT   MSI on Friday announced its newest notebook, the VR340, which features a 13.3-inch screen with 1280x800 resolution, full-sized keyboard and a weight of 4.9 pounds. The VR340's processing power comprises Intel's dual-core processor and GL960 chipset, while the two DDR2 slots can be configured for up to 3GB of memory. [full story]