dell

It's been a while since we reported a big hire or promotion by one of our favorite major software or hardware companies. Back in the earlier months of 2006, it seemed like good 'ol Microsoft was moving people from one position to the next -- as if ... playing a game of boardroom magical chairs. As the Christmas season has set into gear, however, most companies have remained mum: until now. Dell has recently announced that former Wells Fargo employee, Sona Chawla, has been appointed head of online sales and support. Chawla will be working directly under Dell's senior vice president, John Hamlin. ... (view more)

What do you do with a computer that you no longer need? You can always give it away, but then there's worries that another person might have access to previous and private information once held on the PC ... or, you can just store it in a garage and ... watch it take up space and gather dust. Neither option sounds very appealing, does it? ;-) Now computer maker Dell is offering another choice to U.S. consumers: If you own a Dell brand PC or accessory, you can recycle it for free. A company worker will come pick it up from your home at no charge. Computer recycling, however, is hardly a new ... (view more)

Did you know that India is one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world? The dudes at Dell sure did. The company plans to build its first factory near Chennai, the fourth largest city in India -- with over 6 million people in its metro ... area. The facility is expected to open its doors in the first half of 2007. (Source: statesman.com ) "We will start with a production capacity of 400,000 units and quickly ramp up to much higher numbers," according to Rajan Anandan, Dell India's vice-president and general manager. "We are building this factory with the simple objective of ... (view more)

Dell announced recently that it is pulling out of the MP3 player market due to high competition from products such as Apple's iPod. Dell began producing MP3 players in 2003; in February 2006, Dell halted sales of their hard-drive based MP3 players, ... but continued to produce the lower-end "DJ Ditty," (similar to the "iPod Shuffle"). (Source: dailytech.com) Dell spokeswoman, Anne Camden confirmed that "as of last week, we did remove the DJ Ditty from our web site and we are not going to offer a follow up product." Camden also noted that the company will be tightening " ... (view more)

It's getting to be an expensive day for Apple. Hours after the announcement of its $100 million settlement with digital music competitor Creative, the Cupertino, California company has also made public that it will be recalling 1.8 million batteries ... once installed in its laptop line. The recall is on the same Sony batteries found in the 4.1 million Dell systems cited as faulty by that company earlier this month. For those consumers who own a Macintosh iBook G4 or Powerbook G4, the recall affects those models sold between October 2003 and August 2006, a time window larger than that outlined by ... (view more)

Not so long ago, Infopackets reported on Dell's surprising announcement to step away from its long-time allegiance to Intel microprocessors by incorporating a line of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) chips. The move was largely regarded as a desperate ... kind of diversification, as both Dell and AMD sought to use each other after pitiful second quarter results. Today, Infopackets has learned that Dell has made its latest announcement on the AMD deal by reportedly ordering 2 million AMD PCs for its fall lineup. (Source: news.com ) According to a Bank of America financial analyst, Dell has requested ... (view more)

After battling recent bad press showing Dell laptops exploding in flames , Dell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday that the company will recall 4.1 million notebook batteries. (Source: news.com ) Affected Products The ... batteries that have been recalled were manufactured by Sony and the recall affects notebooks that were shipped between April 2004 and July 2006. Models that could potentially be affected include: Latitude: D410, D500, D505, D510, D520, D600, D610, D620, D800, D810 Inspiron: 500M, 510M, 600M, 700M, 710M, 6000, 6400, 8500, 8600, 9100, 9200, 9300, ... (view more)

The good news for AMD keeps coming: just days after the announcement that it will acquire major graphics card producer ATI , it has also been reported that the first batch of AMD-powered Dell systems are not far off. The development takes a ... significant chunk out of AMD's processing chip competitor Intel, which has in the past skipped along merrily, hand-in-hand with Dell. Much like the reasons behind AMD's surprising acquisition of ATI, Dell is changing its strategy -- and allegiances -- in order to revive itself. In recent months, competition from HP, Gateway, and others have slowed Dell ... (view more)

For those of you who missed the rather sensational story a few weeks ago, Dell is apparently having a small problem with their laptops. That is, they are becoming known in the industry -- especially amongst the "tech tabloids" -- for products that ... spontaneously combust. Now there's word from UK insiders that Dell has a stockpile of the burnt out systems, and is (hopelessly, perhaps) trying to keep the problem on the "down-low". Last month, video surfaced on the worldwide web showing a laptop burst into flames not far from its Japanese owner. You can see a picture here . Since the mishap, word ... (view more)

As a response to criticisms of its often difficult to comprehend price scheme, Dell is completely changing the way it charges consumers. In a major announcement earlier this month, Dell proclaimed that it would streamline offers for small businesses ... and home purchasers by eliminating random offers and mail-in rebates. With business consumers comprising 85% of Dell sales, the company has been seeking an effective method of expanding its success in the home computer market. Other strategies, including forays into television and printers, have had mixed results. Such failures have led Dell to ... (view more)