Dell May Be Set to Float MacBook Air Rival

Computer sales surge as new operating system nears debut

(NEWSER) - Sales of Mac computers are booming, boosted by the success of Apple's iPod and iPhone among PC users. Apple will move into third place among computer makers today—behind Hewlett Packard and Dell, reports the New York Times. The surge comes just as Apple is about to release the new Leopard version of its OS X operating system. More»

Walt Mossberg reviews 3 cutting-edge laptops

(NEWSER) - Cheap netbooks aren't profitable for PC makers, so it’s logical they're trying to lure consumers toward laptops that are just as thin, but have bigger screens, more features—and a heftier price tag. Walt Mossberg reviews three such models for the Wall Street Journal, and finds pros and cons for each but no clear winner:

• Toshiba Satellite T135, $600. This model boasts the best battery life of the three and is the cheapest, but it has a slippery, hard-to-use keyboard and touchpad.

(NEWSER) - Dell is desperate to expand its chunk of the consumer PC market and shed its reputation for stodgy design, so Walt Mossberg decided to take a look at two of its flashier offerings: the ultrathin Adamo laptop, and the Studio One 19 touch-screen desktop. They’re not bad machines, he concludes, but they’re not exactly groundbreaking, either. The Adamo is just a belated competitor to the MacBook Air, while the desktop is aping HP’s TouchSmart series. More»

Lenovo, Asus debut lightweights that are close, but not there

(NEWSER) - Hamstrung by poor battery life, and burdened with an overly weighty Vista operating system that makes starting up a drag, a pair of new subnotebook computers offer a glimpse of what could be—but isn’t quite, writes Wall Street Journal tech guru Walt Mossberg. Lenovo’s IdeaPad—a junior ThinkPad—and the U2E, a quirky offering from Asus, are pricey to boot. More»

Caters to emerging low-cost high-mobility market

(NEWSER) - Cheap, small notebooks look like the next big thing. Dell today announced it was jumping into the burgeoning segment, which doesn’t quite have a name yet—some call them netbooks, others mini-notebooks, still others ultramobile PCs or UMPCs. Dell’s machine will start at $399, and sport a wee 8.9-inch screen, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»