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eMachines kicks out new desktop lineup for Vista
There's a good chance your dealing with some eMachines boxes when the "high-end" boasts a hefty $530 pricetag. The Gateway-owned budget PC builder has a new lineup of desktops out today to support Windows Vista, ranging from the Celeron-based T3604 to the Pentium D T5224. In the low-end, the T3604 sports a Celeron D 356 3.33GHz processor, with 512MB (hardly adequate for blazing Vista performance) of RAM, a 120GB HDD, CD-RW/DVD combo drive, Intel 950 graphics, Vista Home Basic and a $350 pricetag after a $50 instant rebate. Next up is the T5082, which runs a Pentium 4 631 3GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, a super-multi DVD drive, 15-in-1 card reader, ATI Radeon X300-based integrated graphics, Vista Home Basic and a $400 pricetag after the $50 rebate. Finally, the T5224 really does it up fancy for an eMachines box, including a Pentium D 820 proc running at 2.8GHz, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, super-multi DVD drive, card reader, Intel 950 graphics (bleh), and Vista Home Premium. The box is Viiv compatible, and will run you $530 after the $50 rebate. All of the PCs have 5.1 surround sound, DirectX 9.0 graphics, and a PCI Express x16 slot for upgrading the graphics -- which seems highly advisable. You should be able to find these things at retail outlets before too terribly long.
eMachines founder to buy Packard Bell from NEC
You know how some things go out of fashion here in the US, but they continue to live on in Europe? We're talking about things like Speedos, very colorful shirts and house music. In the computer biz, add Packard Bell to that list. As we reminded you back in late June, Packard Bell withdrew from the American market in 1999, but has remained successful in Europe under the direction of NEC. Well, yesterday, the company announced that its sale of its beloved subsidiary to eMachines founder Lap Shun Hui should be complete by the end of the month. No word on how much LSH offered for PackBell (The Wall Street Journal quoted estimates of as much as $87 million) but the head of the company, Aymar de Lencquesaing told The New York Times that its annual revenue last year was about $1.9 billion and added the company is "slightly profitable." Lap Shun Hui also offered to buy Gateway for $450 million, but was turned down by that company's board of directions. We guess Mr. Hui doesn't take well to rejection -- either way, we expect to spot him bumping to house music in an Amsterdam nightclub any day now.
eMachines founder jonesing for Gateway's retail biz
Just a couple of months after making an offer for Packard Bell's BV PC subsidiary, eMachines founder Lap Shun Hui has now set his sights on Gateway, the very same company he sold eMachines to for some $290 million all the way back in 2004. He doesn't want the whole company though, just its retail business (which includes eMachines), which he says would be more successful if it were separated from Gateway's other operations. So far, Hui has offered $450 million to take the business off Gateway's hands, but it doesn't look like he's gonna be quick to take no for an answer, even saying he'd consider acquiring all Gateway shares and splitting up the businesses himself if necessary. There doesn't appear to be any indication of Gateway's intent just yet, but its shareholders seem to have spoken, with Gateway's stock shooting up over 13 percent yesterday on the news.[Via Ars Technica]
eMachines releases five desktops for cash-strapped students
Even though summer has only barely begun, Gateway's eMachines is already looking ahead to the upcoming school year, having just announced five new Vista-ready desktops for the student on a budget. Starting at the "top of the line," we have the T6536 (pictured, with optional monitor) and T6534, which both feature Athlon 64 processors from AMD (3800+ and 3700+, respectively), nVidia GeForce 6100 graphics, and 250GB of storage, but the extra $90 you're spending on the $540 T6536 doubles the RAM from 512MB to 1GB and bumps the OS up to Windows XP Media Center Edition. Next in line is the T5046, which will set you back the same $450 as the T6534 but changes up the specs with a hyper-threaded Pentium 4 processor, Radeon Xpress 200 graphics from ATI, 512MB of RAM, a 200GB HDD, and the same dual-layer DVD burner found in both members of the 6000-series. Finally, the super-budget-conscious consumer has the option of either the $350 T3506 or $380 T3508, with the former machine offering a Celeron D352 CPU, Radeon X300-based graphics, 512MB of RAM, 120GB HDD, and a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, while the latter rig steps it up to a Celeron D356, Radeon Xpress 200 chip, 160GB hard drive, and that good old multi-format DVD burner. All of the new machines are available immediately, which gives you plenty of time to load up the software you'll need for surviving next year's vigorous academic schedule -- namely tunes, vids, and games.Read- T6536Read- T6534Read- T5046Read- T3508Read- T3506[All models via Yahoo]
NEC reportedly mulling offer for Packard Bell BV
Some of our older readers may remember using Packard Bell gear all the way back when the consumer electronics industry consisted of just radios and TV sets, and even the younger crowd probably played on a PB or two after the name was sold to a budget computer manufacturer in the mid-80's. Well even though the company withdrew from the US market back in 2000 after being plagued with quality and compatibility issues, it has actually been quite successful overseas under the guidance of NEC as Packard Bell Europe, where it's consistently been one of the top-selling PC manufacturers and even begun branching out to other product lines. Still, NEC seems to think that the tide has turned on old Packard Bell once again, as sources in Asia indicate that the Japanese corporation is looking to sell the Dutch Packard Bell BV PC subsidiary, and that eMachines founder Lap Shun Hui is looking to buy. Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun is claiming that Hui offered around $87 million for the division, probably hoping that he can use his skills to transform the 'Bell into the same type of property that convinced Gateway to shell out over $200 million worth of cash and stock for eMachines a few years back.
