Acer to Acquire Gateway in $710-Million Deal

Putting an end to the rumors, PC vendor Acer Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gateway Inc., the fourth-largest PC company in the United States. Acer is now the third-largest PC company, behind Dell and Hewlett-Packard. The announced combination will create a multibranded PC company with more than $15 billion in revenue and shipments in excess of 20 million PC units per year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Acer will buy Gateway for $710 million. (Those fearing an end to Gateway's signature black-and-white cow branding have little reason to worry; Acer plans to keep the Gateway brand just the way it is.) On a worldwide basis, the merger pushes Taiwan's Acer to the No. 3 position, replacing Chinese rival Lenovo.Acer to Acquire Gateway in $710-Million Deal

NVousPC Launches New Notebook Line

If Sony's or Dell's notebook styles aren't doing it for you, check out NVousPC. This new company is giving customers the ability to design their notebooks with custom paint jobs and graphic designs using its Web site. For the first time, users can upload any image for placement on the panels of their machine. Users can also opt to have any of the four notebook panels painted with their choice of colors.

After submitting the designs online, customers receive a preview of their artwork via e-mail, at which time they have the opportunity to interact with an NVousPC designer to complete the design. NVousPC then individually paints each notebook with a durable high-quality finish that the company says is similar to what you'll find on a luxury car.

The catch is that there are only two base models to choose from. The current models offered are the 14.1-inch Mercury and the 15.4-inch Ether. Both notebooks come with a minimum of 1GB of RAM, the option to upgrade to an Intel Core2Duo T7600 CPU, and Windows Vista. NVousPC also offers after-market custom painting for consumers who already own notebooks. Stay tuned for a full review of an NVousPC notebook.

Lenovo Unveils the ThinkPad Reserve Edition

In celebration of the 15th anniversary of the original ThinkPad, Lenovo has unveiled its limited-edition ThinkPad Reserve Edition notebooks. These notebooks--only 5,000 will be made--combine style and executive-class personal service offerings for business professionals.

Clad in hand-stitched, saddle-grade premium French leather, the Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve Edition offers plenty of eye-catching flair, which is where only part of your money goes. In addition to good looks, each user receives around-the-clock, 24/7 support from a trained PC specialist. This tech support includes a local toll-free and an international phone number; a promise that incoming calls will be answered before the fourth ring; and a repair technician that can be at a customer's location within four hours. These executive-class support features last for three years.

Under the hood runs Intel's Centrino Pro mobile technology, the Ultra Connect II integrated pop-up antenna, and optimized WAN performance for broadband connectivity while on the go. Lenovo rates the eight-cell battery for up to seven hours of life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Reserve Edition is available for purchase now.

HP Launches the Compaq 6720s and 6820s

Today, HP expanded its business notebook catalog with the introduction of two new systems that sport a fresh look and wallet-friendly value: the Compaq 6720s and Compaq 6820s.

Designed for small businesses and mobile professionals, the notebooks feature the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an SD Card reader, three USB ports, an ExpressCard/54 slot, and optional DVD-RW drives with LightScribe technology. Device Access Manager for HP ProtectTools helps prevent unauthorized users from moving data, and HP Drive Guard prevents data corruption and system failures caused by shock. The HP Compaq 6720s and 6820s are both available for purchase now.

Starting at $649, the HP Compaq 6720s is a 15.4-inch notebook that users can outfit with either an anti-glare display or an HP BrightView display for a more vivid image.

The HP Compaq 6820s (starting at $999) features a roomy 17-inch display and a full-sized keyboard. ATI's Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics card is included for delivering rich visuals.

Westinghouse's Bargain Bundle

Westinghouse and Wal-Mart are teaming up and targeting students and budget conscious consumers with one of the most pocket-friendly deals available: A laptop and an HD-ready television for less than $1,000. What's the catch you may ask? Well, that depends.

The Westinghouse NB-14w2 laptop features a 14.1-inch, 1280 x 800 widescreen display, an Intel Celeron M 410 (1.46 GHz) processor, ATI Xpress 200M graphics card, 60GB hard drive, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Wi-Fi, 4-in-1 card reader, microphone input, and a dual-layer DVD burner. Not a powerhouse, by any means; but not a bad option for someone looking for a straightforward productivity tool to do e-mail and surf the Web with.

The TV is a Westinghouse LTV-19w6 19-inch widescreen that features dual HD inputs and integrated speakers. You can hook it up to your new laptop for increased productivity. And when you're not writing reports or surfing the Web, you can kick back and zone out to repeats of Road Rules.

This bundle isn't for everyone. If you need a television for the bedroom, dorm room, or your home office, and you need a basic laptop for you or someone you know, it's worth taking a closer look. If you have an interest in working with multimedia (photos, music, video), or want a laptop with legs, you might consider taking a pass on this.

The laptop/television bundle is available exclusively at Wal-Mart for $989.

Dynabook TX, a new NoteBook with HD DVD-ROM, by Toshiba

Toshiba is a major actor in the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray war. This time, its the Dynabook TX which is fitted with an HD DVD player...a sweet way to enjoy the enxt generation of DVDs on the "Clear Super View" 15.4 inches monitor (1280x800), Core 2 Duo T7100, Intel GM965 Express, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, all this for 1420€.

LaVie en couleur!

Yep, that's a french title in the english section, but every good Geek always has got a quick translating software at hand on the internet!

Just to say that the Nec LaVie notebooks decided to rock new colors and that's not a bad idea, not at all!
Right now, people will have the choice between 6 colors to go with their 15.4 inches monitor (WXGA 1280x800), AMD M690-V using the EX2 Liquid Crystal technology...120GB HDD, DVD DL burner, 1GB RAM (max 4), Turion 64x2 @ 1.6GHz (TL-52) and other goodies...

A New Lappy From Fujitsu

Dubbed the AMILO Xi, two new laptops were announced from Fujitsu today with one (the 242 coming in at a slightly cheaper price than its big brother the 2528.

The 2428 sports a 15.4-inch screen and weighs 6.6 pounds, while thei 2528 offers a 17-inch display and a whopping 8.8 pounds.

Both offerings sport a Core 2 Duo, up to 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS graphics with 256MB RAM, an integrated webcam, and support for HDMI, FireWire and ExpressCard to name a few.

The 2428 sports a 250GB hard drive, while the 2528 can support up to two hard drives if you so fancy.

The 2428 will go for $1,404 and the 2528 will retail for $2,909 when it's fully equipped.

Look for them in the fourth quarter.

The new LOOK T from Fujitsu

The Fujitsu LOOK T used to be the "hot" product that you needed to look cool, for some reason this is not really the case anymore...no matter what, here comes the latest version equipped with a 10.6 inches widescreen, a Core 2 Duo U7600 CPU (to replace the U2500) @ 1.2GHz. Add to this an 80GB HDD, DVD DL burner, WiFi, BlueTooth and just over 1kg.

SONY VAIO Type F, with Blu-Ray and Hybrid HDD!!

Here comes a sweet update of the Sony VAIO Type F with nothing less than a Blu-Ray drive!

Depending on the version you'll have the choice between various CPU but let's focus on the top notch...the FZ71!
It features a 15.4 inches monitor, GeForce 8400M GT, Wifi A/B/G/N, 200GB of Hybrid HDD (256MB of Flash), 1 to 4GB RAM, Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2GHz (BTO up to 2.8GHz), webcam and HDMI!

The update of the VAIO Type T

Update or upgrade, call it as you want. Anyway, the Sony VAIO Type T, TZ2 to be precise, now features a 11.1 inches monitor with 1366x768 resolution, Core 2 Duo U7500 @ 1.06GHz good for 8 to 11 hours of autonomy, 80GB HDD, DVD DL burner, 1GB RAM, WiFi, BlueTooth, 1Seg, 0.3MPx webcam and no more than 1.22kg.

The women have their VAIO!!

And it's the Type C! Sony is putting on sale a new VAIO aimed at the women and available in four colors: Rose, Red, Blue and White.

Here, the specifications are not the key as the women shouldn't worry too much about it, just for the geeks, let me say that those machines feature a 14 inches monitor, WXGA, Core 2 Duo T7250 or Celeron, Radeon X2300…The most important effort was made on the presentation with, for example, a LED frame (around the screen) which brightness depends on the user...a sweet effort from Sony and 20 pictures for your eyes only!

NEC rolls out Blu-Ray, HDMI, Hybrid HDD and "face Pass" new LaVie Laptops

NEC rolls out yesterday 3 new LaVie Series with the LaVie C, LaVie L Advanced Type and LaVie L Standard Type, and honestly we are not going to bother by talking about the two later one, but we will rather concentrate our attention on the very interesting LaVie C series. In a nutshell, our PC is available in different flavor but the top of the range model, the LC950/KC, offers quite some nifty functions like the "Face Pass" a face recognition system which will let you logon into your computer once you shows up you cute little face to the computer web camera. Also this model receives a BLu-Ray disc drive (read only) as well as an HDMI output for your HD Video pleasure, but also a Hybrid HDD of 160GB with Flash Memory (256MB). Otherwise we have some quite basic specifications like a Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz), a 15.4" LCD screen with a WXGA+ resolution, 1GB of RAM and an AMD ATI Radeon Xpress 1250.

Santa Rosa and Hybrid HDD for the VAIO S

An excellent upgrade/update for all the Sony VAIO Type S lovers and especially the VGN-SZ74B/B!

The Santa Rosa chipset found yet another new home and came with a good friend: an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU @ 2GHz but also a 160GB HDD (hybrid is an option), Nvidia Graphics Card (GeForce 8400M GS) and Intel GM965 Express...

3 new Samsung Notebooks

Just so you know, Samsung is putting 3 new Notebooks on sale: the R60plus, R20plus and R25plus.

What's "plus" about those? We sincerely wish we knew, anyway, from what we know, those babies are powered by top notch Intel CPUs (Core 2 Duo...but which one??), monitors of 15 and 14 inches and ATI Radeon Xpress 1250.
The R25 plus stands out a bit with an ATI Radeon X2300 and 14 inches monitor.

Kohjinsha upgrade its SSD UMPC

Kohjinsha came from nowhere and in a short period of time managed to be one of the most innovative and fast growing UMPC manufacturer. Their latest wonder, the SH8 series, which were running on an Intel A1XX series CPU (a Pentium M) had a boost of performance and now receive an Intel A110 at 800MHz (against 600Mhz on the previous model). Our little wonder still keeps its 32GB SSD (Solid State Drive) but can also receive a new HDD with a boost of 20GB giving now 120GB or memory in total available. As for the other component are concerned there is no change in that matter and we still have a 7" screen with a WSVGA resolution and 1GB of RAM.

GeekStuff4U.com will carry these new models within this week on their catalog.

The m-Book P550

Here comes another Mouse Computer Japan (MCJ) notebook, with a very nice price regarding the possible specs, possibly because it's sold in BTO configurations.

The m-Book P550 features a 15.4" monitor rocking a 1280x800 WXGA resolution and a GeForce 8600GS; it can be powered by various Core 2 Duos (2 or 2.4GHz), 1GB RAM, DVD burner, A/B/G WiFi and 1GB of ReadyBoost. All of this for the cool price range of 890-1080€.

Lesanse NB CL213SW-TypeM, for those of us who don't want Vista!

Believe it or not, even in Japan, many customers are looking for computers running Windows XP, instead of the "Killer OS" Vista, don't ask me why, you already know the answer... anyway, PC-KOUBOU has put a couple new laptops on sale, such as the new Lesanse NB CL213SW-TypeM. With a weight of 1.88kg, it is equipped with XP Home, a T2300 Core 2 Duo CPU, 1GB RAM, SiS M617 and Chipset SiS 968, 100GB HDD and a DVD DL burner... displayed on a 12.1" (1280x800) monitor.

Of course, WiFi is supported. 635€ is the price!

3 new Sharp Mebius with AMD CPU

Sharp decided to equip the new Mebius laptops with AMD CPU's... and it's a shame... those products could have probably had a better life with one of the many, many Core 2 Duo CPUs available, but that's how it is...

If you're a big Sharp fan, and don't mind trading the performance for a name, you'll get on the PC-WT70V, PC-WE50V and 40V a Turion 64 X2 TL-52 or Sempron 3400+. The screen is a 15.4 inches WXGA, and an ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 is also part of the deal.

The new X-Note from LG

Did you notice how we can hardly spend a week without presenting a new LG product? Talk about productivity!!
Anyway, this morning in Korea, LG showed for the first time their latest laptop from the X-Note range: the E200.

What you can see is a 12.1 inches monitor, what you can't is an hybrid 120GB HDD with 256MB of Flash Memory, Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2GHz, L2 2MB, FSB 800) CPU, 1GB RAM, HDMI and built-in webcam 1.3MPx SmartCam).
The price is set around 1100€ (1400000Won).
Unfortunately, none of the girls is included in the package.

The ENDEAVOR NJ5100Pro notebook

Here comes Epson's latest notebook available in BTO (Built to Order), what you won't choose is teh screen size (15.4 inches), other than that, you may go for a Core 2 Duo T7800 @ 2.6GHZ, WUXGA resolution in 1920x1080 (on a 15 inches monitor), ATI Mobility FierGL V5600 with 512MB VRAM as graphics card, 1GB Turbo Memory, DVI HDCP, A/B/G/N WiFi, BlueTooth, Audio S/PDIF out...all this for 365x270x28mm and 2.96kg.

TwoTop has got a couple new Notebooks

TwoTop is a cool shop here in Akihabara which builds its own PCs and NoteBooks...talking about notebooks, they've got two more coming up: the ViP Note-WXS and VIP Note-MW3s.

The VIP Note-MW3s features a 12.1 inches monitor (WXGA) and is available in BTO, among the CPU possibilities are a T7300 Core 2 Duo but also a GM965 Express Chipset, 80GB HDD, DVD, A/B/G WiFi...1.9 kilogram.

The ViP Note-WXS is equipped with a 17 inches monitor with 1920x1200 resolution, 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7300, 2GB RAM, a GeForce 8700GT (512MB), 160GB HDD, DVD, A/B/G/N WiFi, 1GB ReadyBoost...and the almighty PM965 chipset...available in BTO aswell.