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Dell overtakes HP in US sales, HP plans elaborate retaliation
Dell must be doing something right, because according to recent sales figures, the PC maker has topped HP as the number one computer supplier in the States. The Texas-based computer-maker saw sales hit 5.35-million units in the fourth quarter of 2007 (a jump of 15.2-percent over the previous year), while HP came in second with a paltry and embarrassing 4.5-million units shipped. Interestingly, the third and fourth-place slots filled by Apple and Acer swapped hands, with Acer taking the lead due to its recent purchase of Gateway, resulting in a crazy 294.2-percent gain. The increase in numbers of the leader, however, seems to stem from Dell's shift out of direct sales to the sale of systems at retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, though internationally HP still rules the roost, garnering a 19-percent market share worldwide. Of course, if they can overtake in America, Dell can certainly turn it around elsewhere. Watch your back, HP.
Birmingham, Alabama schools getting 15000 OLPC XOs
If you (or your kiddo) just happens to be a first through eighth grader in Birmingham, Alabama, you (or your offspring) will soon be playing with an XO during regularly scheduled class time. Mayor Larry Langford has recently announced that a $3 million deal was signed in order to bring in one laptop per child for the aforementioned grades, or 15,000 XOs in total. Apparently, the schools will become the first in the nation to receive heaps of the low-cost lappies, which were sold to the district at $200 a pop. As for logistics, students can expect to receive their machine on April 15, 2008, and while pupils will be allowed to take 'em home, the school system can and will disable any that inexplicably "disappear."[Image courtesy of OLPCNews]
Despite Wii's success abroad, Nintendo to keep development in Japan
Now, you might want to take a seat before reading this next sentence. The Wii is very popular. Can you believe that? We surely couldn't upon reading about it and hearing from others regarding its incredible appeal both in Japan and abroad. So, considering that demand for the console is highest in the U.S., it would make sense for Nintendo to think about focusing some of their development over here, right? Well, Nintendo doesn't have any such plans, apparently.We can understand that first-party titles are most likely going to need to be directly overseen by Iwata or Miyamoto, but what about Metroid Prime 3? It was one of the Wii's biggest titles this year, why wouldn't Nintendo want to make more titles exclusively like it, geared toward the Western gamer? Well, Nintendo thinks that's what third-party developers are for.George Harrison (is he even leaving anymore?) commented that "They're [third-party developers] doing a great job both on DS and on Wii. They tend to provide product in categories that we aren't particularly good at doing, like sports or other genres. And since they're Western publishers, they tend to be more in tune with Western tastes." So, for the time being, it looks like Nintendo's first-party development is going to stay confined to the Land of the Rising Fun.[Via CVG]
US 3G phone sales crack the 50 percent mark
Hello, T-Mobile, anyone home? Despite T-Mobile's giant 2G drag on the overall retail picture, 3G phones outsold their 2G counterparts in the third quarter in the US by a 55 to 45 percent margin. Topping the 3G list was the Motorola RAZR V3m, followed by the LG VX8300 (really?). The number one seller overall was -- you guessed it -- the lowly RAZR V3, a phone that has seemingly well outlasted its retail viability but continues to hustle off shelves as long as carriers are willing to offer them at bargain basement prices. Oh, and yes, we know the whole 3G thing isn't really your fault, T-Mobile![Via textually.org]
Space Machine GPS-306 lands in North America
If you've yearned for an Asian-based GPS, but didn't feel like worrying over those annoying import duties or changing out the maps, Space Machine apparently feels your pain. Contrary to its title, this device actually doesn't include the marked highways on Jupiter and Mars, but it does manage to include NAVTEQ maps of North America in case you're traveling there, and also features a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen, integrated MP3 player, automatic re-routing, turn-by-turn voice guidance, SiRF Star III GPS receiver, 256MB SD card, car mounting kit, headphone jack, and a carrying case to boot. While most rebadgers actually take the time to slap their own logo on there, the GPS-306 apparently still rocks the Holux GPSsmile 51 motif, right down the "Holux" branding atop the screen. Nevertheless, we do appreciate the effort of importing the unit for us, and those attracted to the name more than its functionality can pick one up now for $399.95. [Via NaviGadget]
Air Force looking to develop foot-long subterranean defusers
While it probably won't matter much once we're pitting one robot army against another, it appears that the US Air Force is looking into new "subterranean vehicles" that could be used to navigate to underground bombs, traps, or nuclear pods and defuse the situation from beneath. Although we figured the USAF would focus the majority of its attention somewhere above the Earth's surface, the newfangled moles would be deployed a safe distance from the target and "autonomously navigate itself to the target" while cleverly avoiding buried obstacles on its route. While larger digging machines can certainly accomplish the same task, the catch here is that the life-saving worm must not exceed "12 inches" in length and be able to run off of minimal battery power. Similar to other "teams" of robotic creatures feeding off one another to accomplish complex goals, the Air Force envisions swarms of these diggers penetrating and neutralizing potential hotbeds for underground explosives, all without sacrificing human lives. Now if we only had one of these bad boys to sneak up into Best Buy's PS3 holding closet last night, we'd have a winner.[Via Defense Tech]
NPD October: DS leading the upsurge in gaming
American hardware sales from October from the NPD group indicate that the trend continues -- video game sales are up, revenue is up, and if this continues, it's going to be a banner year for game sales. With two console launches less than a week away, we're pretty sure the industry will hit that grace note that triggers the confetti, but the victory can't be hung on just the release of the next gen systems. No, shocking as it may be to some, the Nintendo DS is at the heart of this year's rocketing game sales. And for October, we're even happy to share the love with the guys who are usually our mortal enemies -- the PSP fanboys. Last month, a full quarter of the top one hundred games in the U.S. were portable games. When it came to systems, the show was all the DS, with 360,000 units sold in the U.S. for the month. The PS2 pulled out a strong second with 235,000, and oh! Look! Even the GBA moved more than the poor ol' PSP: 169,000 to 130,000. That was a short-lived sense of camaraderie, but that's okay. We're pretty sure they're going to tell us that we're only on top because of Pokemon anyway ....
Apple's US market share still falling and rising with the tides
Yesterday's prelim 4th quarter report was great news for Apple's health as a manufacturer of personal computers - they shipped over 1.6 million Macs, the most ever in a quarter and 30% more than the previous quarter. Today's news of a rise to 6.1 percent market share in the U.S. from Gartner, however, has the Mac web doing the market share dance all over again, as just a year ago this month it was the NPD Group reporting that Apple's U.S. market share - excluding online sales - had risen to 6.6 percent. The confusion ensues when considering MacNN's conflicting report from Gartner claiming Apple's U.S. share just rose to 6.1 percent. Of course where and how these different groups are getting their numbers is unbeknownst to this blogger, but methinks something might have been lost in translation between all these analysts.Still, while market share numbers might be getting a little fuzzy as of late, we can at least trust Apple's announcement of selling the most.Macs.evar in a quarter, and that's alright with me.
Blow up U.S. tanker in Iranian game
Reuters covers the release of Counter Strike, a game that charges players with the goal of sinking a U.S. oil tanker in a critical channel, blocking the path that two-fifths of all the world's oil travels. Iran's government sponsored the game for distribution within that country.The topical nature of the game isn't new; Kuma Reality Games mirrored real-life U.S. strikes against Iraq. The anti-American sentiment isn't even new, as seen in Night of Bush Capturing.This trend of all sides using games as propaganda interests us. Are games more persuasive than radio broadcasts and dropping leaflets? When will bombers start dropping games over enemy states?
Nokia N93 ships stateside
Our enthusiasm for Nokia's biggie-sized N93 smartphone has died down a bit on news of 1) the N95 that somehow manages to outdo it spec-for-spec, and 2) the N75, which gives us long-overdue UMTS 850 / 1900 on a S60 device. Nonetheless, Nokia USA is looking to see if it can't push a couple of the 3.2-megapixel video cameras (that just happen to have a phone built in) out the door alongside the E70. At $700 unlocked, S60 3rd Edition dominance isn't cheap, but the N93 fits the bill when you absolutely, positively must have the biggest flip phone in the room -- just be prepared to come up a bit short on reception, seeing how it lacks GSM 850.[Thanks, Scott]
