July 2 - 11:40pm EDT   Nvidia says that a heat problem in with one of its mobile chips will hurt its earnings for the second quarter, sending its shares tumbling down almost 25 percent to below $14 in after-hours trading. According to the Wall Street Journal, Nvidia said that the overheating problem -- which appears to be focused on older chips for notebook computers -- caused higher-than-normal failure rates in certain GPU models as well as related chip sets; the company's said that it could see a revenue shortfall of nearly 24 percent in the second quarter (ending July 27th), but also cited problems such as general market conditions, price cuts to match rival AMD, and delayed product ramps. ... [full story]

June 27 - 4:30pm EDT   MSI has again delayed getting its Wind UMPC into the hands of buyers. In a letter sent to customers recently, apologetic MSI says the delay stems from an industry-wide notebook battery shortage that took place in March. In an attempt to make up for the delay, MSI will give buyers free overnight shipping when the Wind does arrive on July 7. The last promised ship date for the long-awaited UMPC was June 16th, but US customers are still to receive their mini notebooks. [full story]

June 16 - 5:35pm EDT   Kensington today introduced 24 notebook accessories in its Power It, Control It, Carry It, Secure It, Optimize It and Connect It product lines. The offerings range from wrist rests and laptop locks to Bluetooth mice and USB hubs. To provide a more comfortable environment while reducing eye and neck strain, the company announced the release of its Column Mount Monitor Arm with SmartFit System, priced at $150. It sports dual pivot points for easy adjustment, and can hold notebooks and additional monitors, and is also available in an extended version ($180) or with dual arms ($260). [full story]

June 13 - 1:35pm EDT   Toshiba is preparing its own entry into the world of luxury gaming notebooks, a report claims. Specifications are said to have leaked for the Qosmio X305, which is alleged to be running a 3GHz Core 2 Duo, with support for still faster speeds through overclocking. Video is meanwhile said to be powered through a GTX-level Nvidia GeForce card, with an extremely high 1GB of onboard VRAM. This amount of memory is rare in desktop computers. [full story]

June 13 - 12:30am EDT   Dell's foray into the mini-notebook market has been dubbed the new "Dell E" series, which will include two different screen configurations: the 8.9-inch model is designed to take on the Asus Eee 900, and the 12.1-inch "E Slim" may be a rival to the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300 (and its successors), according to Engadget. Defining a new product category called the "Mobile Internet Device" for 30 minutes of web experience (vs. 3 min on an Smartphone: "iPhone" pictured), Dell says the new [full story]

June 11 - 3:20pm EDT   IDC is projecting worldwide PC shipment growth of 15.2 percent in 2008, reaching 310 million units. The analysis firm predicts that growth will remain in the double-digits through 2010, followed by high single-digit growth through 2012, boosting annual shipments to over 472 million in 2012. Meanwhile, the fall in average PC selling price will be offset by an ongoing transition to sale of notebooks, which generally cost more than desktops. IDC's report also says that the Asia/Pacific region excluding Japan (APeJ) surpassed the United States as the region with the largest PC market in total annual shipments at the end of 2007. [full story]

June 11 - 12:35pm EDT   Specifications have been learned for two upcoming Lenovo notebooks, according to Notebook Italia. Both are said to be intermediary computers for the transition to Intel's Centrino 2 platform, and a replacement for Lenovo's current ThinkPad R61. Each has the option of a Core 2 Duo or Celeron M processor, matched to a PM45, GM45 or GL45 motherboard; the systems also support up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 320GB 5400rpm hard drive or a 200GB 7200rpm drive. Wireless technologies should include options for Bluetooth, WiMAX, and 802.11b/g or a/g/n. [full story]

June 4 - 12:05am EDT   With AMD-based notebooks already surfacing at Computex, AMD on Wednesday officially announced its next-generation notebook platform, offering significant improvements in HD visual performance and increased energy efficiency for notebooks as well as a the foundation for new AMD Business Class, AMD GAME! and AMD LIVE! notebook solutions. Hoping to take a share from rivals Intel and Via, AMD says the new notebook platform, code-named "Puma", brings three times the 3D graphics performance, five times the HD image quality,, 40 percent faster wireless transfer of HD content, and up to 90 minutes more battery performance. The platform includes a new notebook processor and ... [full story]

May 29 - 1:15pm EDT   Images and information have leaked for Acer's rumored answer to ASUS' Eee PC, according to various sources. The computer is allegedly named the "Aspire One," and features an 8.9-inch screen, with a native resolution of 1024x768. At the core is said to be an Atom/Diamondville processor, running Windows XP SP3; the trackpad is said to be similar to that on the HP 2133, which may not be a coincidence as the ODM company is believed to be Quanta, which services HP, Dell and Apple. [full story]

May 23 - 3:45pm EDT   Online vendor Koyono has introduced two notebook cases by BUILT to its lineup, the Cargo Laptop Sleeve and the Laptop BackPack. The sleeve uses a thick neoprene layer, which stretches to accommodate the shape of different notebooks; there are additionally three external pockets, sized to fit gear such as iPods, power adapters and cellphones. Zig-zagging stitches are used to improved durability and protection against water. The sleeve comes in black, brown, green and orange colors, and 13-, 15- and 17-inch sizes; prices range from $40 to $50. [full story]

May 16 - 5:00pm EDT   XtremeNotebooks on Thursday announced it's the first to offer a notebook with Intel's quad core chips for the United States, with its Xtreme 917-V mobile workstation and server. Offered with a choice of five Intel quad core CPUs borrowed from desktop PCs, the laptop can be optioned up with the latest hardware, including up to three 64GB SSD drives and a Blu-ray optical drive. The 17-inch display is capable of 1600x1050 resolution, but can be upgraded to a 1920x1200 display. [full story]

May 16 - 3:20pm EDT   Accessory and peripheral maker FastMac has announced a new external battery charger for Mac notebooks, the U-Charge. The unit is a 45W adapter that bridges from an AC outlet directly to a battery's terminals, eliminating the need to have the notebook itself present. As a result the U-Charge also consumes less energy than some adapters, having no need to power the computer at the same time. Indicator LEDs mimic those of Apple's, and safeguards are installed against overcharging, overheating and power surges. [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 9 - 12:25pm EDT   Toshiba has announced plans to launch two new commercial products based on Sony's PlayStation 3 technology, according to a Japanese news site. Tech-On! writes that a forthcoming TV will use the PS3's core Cell processor, in order to enable some high-end features; among these are real-time upscaling of SD signals into HD resolution, and the ability to play and record multiple TV shows at the same time. Unusual is the description of another option, "displaying video as if it is being viewed through opera glasses." This may simply refer to a zoom function. [full story]

May 1 - 9:30pm EDT   On the heels of publicized supply shortages, Intel says it is ramping up prerelease production of its Atom mobile processors, which are designed for smaller notebooks (and ultra compact desktops). Code-named Diamondville, Intel's 45-nanometer chip won't be officially released until June, but reports are indicating that the company is filling less than 40 percent of requests for the new chip; however, the company says it is trying to cope with the demand. Company spokesman Bill Calder told Computerworld that several PC makers plan to announce in June that they're working on Diamondville-based products, but those products are not expected until the third or fourth quarters ... [full story]