Worldwide external disk storage systems factory revenues posted year-over-year growth of 3.3%, totaling just over $5.9 billion, in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker. For the quarter, the total disk storage systems market posted just under $7.9 billion in revenues, representing 3.7% growth from the prior year's third quarter. Total disk storage systems capacity shipped reach 7,104 petabytes, growing 24.4% year over year.

"The external disk storage system market continues to exhibit steady growth, posting solid third quarter factory revenues of just over $5.9 billion," said Liz Conner, senior research analyst, Storage Systems. "End users continue to invest in storage infrastructures despite persistent concerns surrounding global and regional economies. Helping to drive the worldwide market in the third quarter was the double-digit growth in multi-protocol storage architecture and strong demand for upper mid-range and high-end storage."

In addition to the U2413 mentioned earlier today, Dell China has made available another UltraSharp series widescreen monitor, the U2713H. Seen below, this 27-inch model makes use of an AH-IPS panel and offers 99% Adobe RGB coverage, a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, a 6 ms GTG response time, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 350 cd/m2 brightness, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort inputs, and a four-port USB 3.0 hub.

The U2713H has a stand enabling height, tilt, swivel and rotate adjustments and costs 8,999 yuan (~ $1,445 / ~ 1,104).

Courtesy of Dell's Chinese website we now have full, official details on the latest UltraSharp monitor on the block, the 24-inch U2413. This new model features an AH-IPS panel, LED backlighting, a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, a 6 ms (GTG) response time, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (2,000,000:1 DCR), DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort connectors, plus a built-in 4-port USB 3.0 hub.

The UltraSharp U2413 also has a stand allowing for height, tilt, swivel and rotate adjustment, and is backed by a three-year warranty. The listed price tag is 5,499 yuan (~ $883 / €675).

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, factory revenue in the worldwide server market decreased 4.0% year over year to $12.2 billion in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12). This is the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue decline, as server market demand continued to soften following a strong refresh cycle that characterized the market in most of 2010 and 2011. After declining in 2Q12, server unit shipments increased 0.6% year over year in 3Q12 to 2.1 million units. This was the 11th time in the past 12 quarters that server units have grown on a year-over-year basis.

On a year-over-year basis, volume systems experienced a 0.5% revenue decline. At the same time, demand for midrange and high-end systems experienced year-over-year revenue declines of 14.0% and 8.9% respectively in 3Q12. All three segments were impacted by difficult year-over-year compares combined with transitions in the technology refresh cycles.

Dell unveiled the 21.5-inch E2213H widescreen, and 17-inch E1713S square monitors. The two pack LED-backlit TN-film LCD panels, and a basic feature-set. The E2213H features 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, 160° H/V viewing angles, 5 ms response time, 250 cd/m² brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and inputs that include DVI and D-Sub. The E1713S, on the other hand, features 1280 x 1024 pixels resolution, most other features remain the same, except it lacks DVI display inputs. The two are priced under $150.

Dell today announced the acquisition of Gale Technologies, a leading provider of infrastructure automation software that allows organizations to streamline the deployment of on-premise and hybrid clouds for self-service access to infrastructure. Dell also announced the formation of its Enterprise Systems & Solutions organization focused on the delivery of converged and enterprise workload topologies and solutions in alignment with Dell's Enterprise vision.

Gale Technologies helps customers turn discrete compute, network and storage components into integrated and highly-optimized application, virtual desktop infrastructure, and private cloud solutions featuring self-service and advanced automation.

Dell announced fiscal 2013 third-quarter results today with revenue of $13.7 billion, GAAP operating income of $589 million, and GAAP earnings of $0.27 per share. Dell's enterprise solution strategy continued to show positive results with server and networking revenue increasing 11 percent year over year.

"We are consistently executing our end-to-end solutions strategy for the benefit of our customers," said Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO. "In the quarter, we completed the acquisition of Quest Software which - along with other recent acquisitions like SonicWALL and Wyse - adds leading management, security, virtualization and cloud capabilities to our expanding portfolio of powerful solutions."

Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays, slashed his already grim outlook for PC sales, and cautioned that demand for PCs could drop for "years to come." In his report, Reitzes writes "We are lowering our 2012-2016 PC forecasts due to weak macro conditions, confusion around Windows 8, ongoing cannibalization from tablets, and an elongation in replacement cycles," adding "Also, a long-running belief by PC leaders is that emerging markets are destined to reach the 100% PC-penetration rate (per person) that exists today in the U.S., however, we believe that key markets may only reach a fraction of the U.S. penetration rate as consumers now realize a balance between tablets and smart phones - at a far earlier stage in development."

A major factor in declining PC sales could be slow PC replacement rate, "with analysis pointing toward a 1-2 year extension in the replacement rate from 2010-2015 due to income diverted to 'disruptive' mobile products like tablets and smart phones across the globe." Among the companies whose price targets and estimates Reitzes cut are HP and Dell.

Following on LG's footsteps, Dell has introduced its own 29-inch monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio, the UltraSharp U2913WM. This new UltraSharp model features an IPS panel, LED backlighting, a native resolution of 2560 x 1080 pixels, a 99% Adobe RGB coverage, a 5 ms response time, D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity, a three-port USB 3.0 hub, and a stand allowing for height, tilt and swivel adjustment.

The UltraSharp U2913WM has started selling in Australia for AUD662.20 (~ USD 687.80).

Dell introduced the E2013H, an energy-efficient 20-inch LED-backlit LCD monitor. With a standby power draw of less than 0.5W, the monitor draws no more than 14W under typical usage. It features 1600 x 900 pixels resolution, 250 cd/m² maximum brightness, 170° (H) 160° (V) viewing angles, 1000:1 static contrast ratio, and 5 ms response time. Display inputs include DVI-I and D-Sub. Measuring 163.5 x 478.8 x 366.9 mm, it weighs about 3.4 kg. Its stand allows for basic tilt adjustments. Expect it to be priced around $100.

Heralding a new era in high-speed wireless connectivity, Wilocity, the leading developer of 60 GHz multi-gigabit wireless chipsets, today announced that it is jointly providing tri-band wireless chipsets with Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., for Dell's first WiGig enabled Ultrabook for business, the Latitude 6430u. Dell announced the Latitude 6430u last week and demonstrated its multi-gigabit wireless docking and networking capabilities at a Windows 8 launch attended by Dell and Microsoft executives in New York City.

Dell's new Latitude 6430u Ultrabook, integrating the Tri-band chipset from Wilocity and Qualcomm-Atheros, will be among the very first devices to reach the market featuring WiGig technology (IEEE 802.11ad). WiGig technology represents a new and major step forward in the wireless mobile experience by allowing data transfer rates that are over 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi technologies. Wilocity and Qualcomm Atheros' Tri-band system allows Ultrabook users to connect to peripherals such as docks, displays and storage at multi-gigabit speeds, while maintaining standard Wi-Fi coverage throughout the enterprise.

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of "Ultrabooks Market to 2016 -- Financial and Technological Support from Intel Corporation Coupled with Demand from Business Users Segment Will Drive Growth," to their collection of market reports.

GBI Research's new report, "Ultrabooks Market to 2016 -- Financial and Technological Support from Intel Corporation Coupled with Demand from Business Users Segment Will Drive Growth," provides key information and analysis on the Ultrabooks market. The Ultrabook is defined by Intel as being any notebook using Intel processors and meeting certain chip manufacturer specifications. However, in general the term is being used for notebooks that are lightweight (less than four pounds), ultra-thin (less than 2.1cm thick) and have screen sizes varying from 13 to 15 inches. GBI Research expects the global Ultrabooks market to reach $75.8 billion in revenue in 2016, from just $1.3 billion in 2011, growing at a CAGR of 69.2% during 2012-2016.

AMD today announced its collaboration with Microsoft Corp. for more than 125 Windows 8-based PC designs from leading OEMs including ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and more. With a hardware accelerated user interface, Microsoft and AMD have collaborated to design Windows 8 to unlock the high performance graphics capabilities found in AMD accelerated processing units (APUs) and discrete AMD Radeon graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver the best HD video, gaming and app experience consumers want with the always on, always connected, touch-driven interface with great battery life they need.

"There is a lot of exciting innovation happening in the marketplace today -- from the new Windows 8 graphics-accelerated user interface and apps, to ultraportable and sleek hardware designs -- and AMD's CPU, GPU and APU technology designed for Windows 8 helps enable a no-compromise solution," said Stefan Kinnestrand, director of Product Management, Windows Division at Microsoft.

As an extension to its ARM-based server ecosystem enablement and to further application development and testing to this technology, Dell today announced a donation of an ARM-based server concept to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), the volunteer community that develops, stewards and incubates nearly 150 open source software projects and initiatives.

Dell believes ARM infrastructures demonstrate promise for web front-end and Hadoop environments, where advantages in performance per dollar and performance per watt are critical. Dell customers use many of Apache's open source software products, including Hadoop, Cassandra, and the Apache HTTP Web Server as part of their big data and cloud computing solutions, so Dell is providing this community with an ARM-based server concept running Calxeda EnergyCore. This server is accessible to all Apache projects for software development and native porting of applications.

Dell is ushering in the next era of computing with a redesigned portfolio of business and consumer PCs designed to take advantage of advances in new operating systems. Built to best optimize Windows 8, Dell has crafted inspired designs that enable new user experiences and make touch computing available to more customers than ever before. Dell today is making available for purchase the XPS 10 tablet, Latitude 10 tablet, Latitude 6430u Notebook, OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One with touch and the Inspiron 15z. These new systems join the XPS 12 convertible, XPS One 27 All-in-One with touch and Inspiron One 23 All-in-One with touch which were announced last week.

The new offerings free customers from carrying multiple devices, helping them save time and be more productive. The gorgeous and durable designs offer unparalleled security and manageability, empowering users to keep pace in an always-connected world. "The combination of new Dell hardware and Microsoft software will allow customers to create and consume content in new and exciting ways," said Sam Burd, Vice President and General Manager Personal Computer Product Group. "We're unveiling a comprehensive refresh of all our consumer and commercial products to take advantage of Windows 8. These stylish new products include clean and intuitive touch experiences, the security and manageability required by IT departments, and features to allow anytime, anywhere access to data and applications."

PC giant Dell will continue to offer Windows 7 pre-installed on its Precision, Optiplex, and Latitude brands of notebooks and business desktops, post-Windows 8 launch, the company said. Dell's gaming PC subsidiary Alienware, too, will offer Windows 7 as an option. Microsoft has been generally laxed about OEMs offering older versions of Windows pre-installed, after the launch of a newer one. PC makers were allowed to pre-install PCs with Windows Vista for two years after the launch of Windows 7, however, Windows XP was allowed to be loaded for nearly a decade after its launch.

"We're still moving our business customers from [Windows] XP to Windows 7," said Alison Gardner, director at Dell. "The OS migration for a large company is no small feat. We make it easier but it takes some planning and work," he continued. "For Alienware customers, they know what they want and we give them that choice," Gardner continued. Analysts expect Windows 7 to maintain its popularity post Windows 8 launch, at least with computing devices that lack touch interface.

Dell is helping customers touch the future with a refreshed portfolio of business and consumer PCs built for Microsoft Windows 8, designed to provide a more intuitive computing experience and address evolving customer desires. Dell's new systems deliver on the promise of new advances in computing: a leading-edge and intuitive touch experience, the security and manageability required by today's always-on pace and the design aesthetic, style and precision workmanship customers demand.

Today Dell is making available for pre-order three new PCs in its upcoming fall portfolio: the XPS 12, XPS One 27 and Inspiron One 23. The systems are currently available to customers in the United States and will be available worldwide in the coming days. Further, Dell is offering Windows 8 as an option on its current XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, OptiPlex and Precision brands.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a decline of 8.3 percent compared with the third quarter of 2011, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

"A continuing slowdown in consumer PC shipments played a big part in the overall PC market decline," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The third quarter was also a transitional quarter before Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system release, so shipments were less vigorous as vendors and their channel partners liquidated inventory.

After updating the S Series last week, Dell is now working on bringing new blood into its UltraSharp line. That new blood is the U2913WM, a 29-inch models equipped with a (likely IPS) panel with a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1080 pixels. Seen below, the upcoming monitor also features four USB ports and D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectors.

No word yet on pricing. As for availability, Dell's just saying that it's 'coming soon'.

Dell has this week introduced no less than five new monitors, the 27-inch S2740L, the 24-inch S2440L, the 23-inch S2340L and the 21.5-inch S2240L and S2240M. These fresh displays are part of the company's 2013 S Series and feature thin bezels, Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS (S2740L, S2340L, S2240L, S2240M) or VA (S2440L) panels with 178/178 degree viewing angles, and LED backlighting.

The IPS models have a 7 ms (gray to gray) response time and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, while the VA monitor has a 5 ms response time and a 5,000:1 contrast ratio. The S2740L packs VGA, DVI and HDMI ports (plus a 2-port USB hub) while the S2440L, S2340L and S2240L come with VGA and HDMI inputs. The S2240M has to settle for VGA and DVI. The S2740L and S2440L also have edge-to-edge glass.

The S2740L, S2440L, S2340L, S2240L and S2240M cost $399.99, $299.99, $249.99, $219.99 and $199.99, respectively. All can be found here.

Dell today unveiled new additions to its state-of-the-art portfolio of business-class computers enabling companies to give employees devices they want to use while maintaining the IT security and manageability necessary for enterprise-class deployments. The three new devices include the Latitude 10-inch touch-enabled tablet, the Latitude 6430u Ultrabook that brings leading design to the boardroom, and a touch-enabled OptiPlex 9010 All-in-One desktop helping people interact with technology in more intuitive ways.

"Never before has the intersection between great design and data security and manageability been as important as employees increasingly ask for support for gorgeous products while IT needs to maintain corporate controls. Dell is providing the answer with these new Latitude and OptiPlex products designed to inspire workers and meet the needs of IT," said Sam Burd, global vice president, Personal Computing Product Group. "Dell's approach is rooted in our heritage of deep familiarity with the needs of IT professionals combined with our new, world-class set of commercial products that meet user demands."Images courtesy of SlashGear.

Today at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) conference, Dell unveiled three powerful additions to its industry-leading XPS brand of computers. Joining the award-winning XPS 13 Ultrabook, and the XPS 14 and XPS 15 laptops, the new XPS computers enable both consumer and business customers to do more with their technology - from multimedia, entertainment and creation to full business productivity to transition seamlessly from home to office.

The new products include the XPS 10, a 10-inch tablet built to support WindowsRT; the XPS Duo 12 convertible that combines two devices in one, a powerful Ultrabook plus full featured tablet; and XPS One 27 all-in-one PC, which offers a stunning Wide Quad HD display, and will soon be available with touch functionality. The XPS brand has a distinguished heritage of delivering the latest technology and thoughtful design for performance and craftsmanship without compromise. Each product in the XPS portfolio is tailored for very specific customer needs, and the new products unveiled today are designed to take advantage of emerging software and technology, with the same XPS brand attributes that customers expect from Dell.

Ahead of its launch, details of the newest addition to Dell's Ultrasharp family of monitors, the 27-inch U2713HM were leaked to the web thanks to a mix-up by the company website's support and drivers section. The details reveal the U2713HM to be a 27-inch monitor with 2560 x 1440 pixels native resolution, based on an IPS LCD panel with LED-illumination and matte black screen surface, with DisplayPort, HDMI, and dual-link DVI for inputs. Most of its other features, including stand design, resemble those of the other launched Ultrasharp series, such as the U2212HM and U2412M.

Dell today announced the next generation Dell Precision mobile workstations for engineering and design professionals who need uncompromising performance and dependability wherever their demanding work takes them. Film editors on movie sets, architects at construction sites, geophysicists in the field and many other mobile professionals can now run their graphics or compute intensive applications faster and more accurately regardless of the location.

"Appalachian State University relies on Dell's tower and mobile workstations in our IT, Building Science, Geological, Interior Design and Astronomy departments and they've proven to be bullet-proof for our varying high-performance and critical computing needs," said Stephen Taylor, an IT Manager at Appalachian State University. "I've used Dell Precision mobile workstations for the past six years and the attention to detail Dell put into the look, feel and performance of these new systems elevates them to a new level. These are truly mobile workstations without compromise and they have changed the way I look at all Dell products going forward."

Around three years after the European Commission slapped Intel with a record €1.06 billion fine for anti-competitive practices against market rival AMD, the company appealed against the fine, on grounds that the commission relied on "profoundly inadequate" evidence to establish anti-competition charges against the company, which lead to the fine. A 5-member bench of General Court in Luxembourg, Europe's second highest, will hear arguments of both Intel and EU's regulators, during a 4-day hearing. Intel wants its conviction quashed and its fine reduced/removed. According to European regulators, major computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo, received unfair rebates from Intel for opting for its chips. The case is T-286/09, Intel vs Commission.