Advanced Micro Devices got some much-needed good news this week when Gateway announced that it's trading in Intel chips for AMD Phenom quad-core processors in two new high-end desktop machines. Gateway, which has been mostly an Intel-only company for years, yesterday unveiled AMD-based GM and GT series desktop systems. And for a microprocessor company that has been struggling with missed shipment dates, financial woes and a slide in mind share, this is welcome news, according to industry analysts. Focusing on "media-hungry users," the new Gateway GM5664 desktop is geared toward gamers and users interested in video editing or watching live TV online. Available at U.S. retailers for $1,149.99, the computer offers 2.3GHz AMD Phenom 9600 Processor, 3GB DDR2 memory (2x1024MB modules and 2x512MB modules), 2x500GB 7200 rpm hard drives, ATI Radeon HD 2400XT 256MB discrete video and hybrid Blu-ray/HD DVD player and SuperMulti DVD-RW DL drive. The Gateway GT5662, which costs $749.99, is a multimedia lite machine. This desktop uses the 2.20GHz lower-power AMD Phenom quad-core 9500 processor, a 500GB hard drive and its own SuperMulti drive to enable users to burn content onto DVDs or CDs.

Gateway announced Monday that it has agreed to take over the controlling stake in Paris-based PC vendor Packard Bell. Gateway has exercised its right of first refusal to purchase all of the shares of PB Holding Company, the parent company of Packard Bell, from Lap Shun (John) Hui and Clifford Holdings Limited, also controlled by Hui. Both companies control 75 percent of Packard Bell stock. Financial details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed. The announcement wasn't a surprise - Gateway and Lenovo have waged a public battle over Packard Bell - with Gateway announcing its intentions in August. Gateway was also bought by Acer in August of this year.

Following in the footsteps of Apple, Dell and Samsung, Gateway is finally introducing the new Gateway XHD3000 30-inch Extreme HD Display, the world's first "Quad-HD" display, delivering more than four times the resolution of standard 720p high definition format. The XHD3000 screen does utilize the Silicon Optix Realta HQV video processor, and it also offers 2560x1600 resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 400 cd/m2 brightness, a six-millisecond gray to gray refresh rate and 176-degree viewing angles. Moreover, buyers will find HDMI, VGA, DVI, two component inputs, composite, S-Video, six USB 2.0 sockets and a variety of audio connections. The new Gateway XHD3000 30-inch Extreme HD Display will be available via Gateway's Direct channels, as well as technology and electronics retailers that sell Gateway products. It is priced at $1,699.99.

Gateway, Inc., the nation's third largest PC vendor, will offer the powerful new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors in its entry-level tower server and complete line of rackmount servers. The new AMD processors feature four cores on one piece of silicon in the same thermal envelopes as the previous generation of dual-core AMD Opteron processors, for an increase in performance without an increase in heat generation.

According to market watcher NPD, Apple was the third largest laptop vendor during June, with only Toshiba and HP selling more machines. This puts Apple ahead of other major names such as Dell, Gateway and Lenovo, as buyers continue to choose Apple's updated MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks over the more conventional brands. Figures show that Apple accounted for 17.6% of the laptop market, up from 14.3% in May, which also means that more than one in six laptops sold in the USA are made by Apple. However, these are only based on retailer sales, so the direct-to-buyer figures may tell a completely different story. This news comes soon after Apple managed to take the third-spot in overall computer sales, tied with Gateway on 5.6% (behind Dell and HP).

Acer Inc., one of the world's leading branded PC vendors, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gateway, Inc. Gateway is the fourth largest PC company in the US and a leading retail PC provider. The combination will create a multi-branded PC-company with over US$15 billion in revenues and shipments in excess of 20 million PC units per year.

After the well known Sony notebook battery issues sparked off worries among numerous companies last year, the problems aren't over yet, with Gateway having it's second recall in under a year. The notebook maker has now announced that it is to recall a further 14,000 batteries - on top of the 35,000 Sony batteries it recalled in October. This time round the batteries for the 400VTX and 450ROG laptops manufactured between May and July 2003 are to be replaced, with the battery model numbers being 6500760 and 6500761 respectively. If you suspect you may be affected by this, visit this Gateway site to find further instructions.

In a figurative triple play, the Delaware Multimedia Patent Trust (MPT) is suing three technology giants for large sums of money. They are claiming that they own patents to Lucent technologies, and the right to sue for past infringements. The MPT is suing over patents regarding an "adaptive non-linear quantizer", "optimized scanning of transform coefficients in video coding", and "video coding with optimized low complexity variable length codes". The MPT wants a lot of money to cover damages, costs, and expenses.