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Is it just me or was Dell on top of the world a few years ago? Not only was it pummeling just about every other PC manufacturer in the industry, its online business was buzzing and its business integration was better than ever. And then it all came crashing down.

Last year, Dell announced that it was cutting 8,800 jobs from its payroll and Thursday the company said that it has already laid off 5,550 employees in an attempt to cut costs and make the company more financially sound.

"We are not satisfied with the current state of affairs and are on a mission to fix it," Reuters quoted Dell saying. "Every area of the company is being pursued" for cost cuts.

To make matters worse, last week Dell announced that it was closing one of its desktop manufacturing facilities as part of its layoff program and indicated that it wants to reduce expenses by as much as $3 billion per year over the next three years.

And while many would say that Dell is moving in the right direction, I'm not so quick to agree. How can a company that sat atop the entire computing industry for so long become a shadow of its former self in just two years? Is it that Dell has had a string of bad luck or did Hewlett-Packard, Acer and the rest finally find a way to take the company down?

Sadly, it looks like the latter.… Read more

Rumors continue to persist about Dell getting back into the handheld business.

The latest is from Digitimes (which should be taken with a grain of salt) which is reporting that Dell has placed orders with several Asian manufacturers for smartphones, PDAs, and GPS devices. Digitimes says those devices would run Windows Mobile. That differs from the rumor floating around in late January that Dell was about to announce an Android-based handset.

As of this writing, Dell had not yet responded to requests for comment.

It's been almost a year since the company ended production of its popular Axim handheld, … Read more

We're a little more than 48 hours out from that great holiday whose sacred rites (for me, at least) include tucking into a Dublin Coddle and washing it down with a perfect pint of Guinness. (For strict Catholics, the holiday comes even sooner.) So that you can head out for your preholiday warm-up drinking, here's a summary of this week's laptop-related news. Just remember: Friends don't let friends drink green beer.

Speaking of green, Asus has greened its laptop cases by offering an eco-chic bamboo finish. Also, the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool released a list … Read more

Earlier this week, we dropped by an Acer news conference in New York where the company made a pitch for getting into the U.S. market in a big way. We've heard big talk from Acer before, and they're a huge player globally (made even bigger by merging with Gateway), but not the first name you think of when shopping for a laptop domestically.

So while were we all fairly impressed with Acer's plans to introduce new form factors with its upcoming 16-inch Acer Aspire 6920 and the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire 8920, we didn't expect … Read more

We first told you back at CES about the laptop industry's move towards 16- and 18-inch laptops, highlighted by a 16-inch Dell prototype and our off-the-record discussions with several other vendors about these new screen sizes.

Acer is leading the charge with two new multimedia-oriented consumer laptops, the 16-inch Acer Aspire 6920 and the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire 8920. Both are part of what Acer is calling the Gemstone Blue series.

We just got a peek at these two new systems in person at a press event in New York, and while they're not going to be game-changers, … Read more

Continuing its spending spree, Acer announced Monday it plans to acquire E-Ten for $290 million.

Based in Taiwan, E-Ten has been around for more than two decades, and part of its business includes manufacturing Pocket PC phones and PDAs for other companies. But it's probably known best to consumers by its Glofiish consumer brand name, established less than two years ago.

With this purchase, Acer, also based in Taiwan, appears laser-focused on becoming a major mobile player. Thanks to its acquisitions of both Gateway and Packard Bell, it's already taken out Dell as the second-largest manufacturer of notebooks. … Read more

The European Union gave its official blessing to the union of Acer and Packard Bell on Wednesday.

After reviewing the $48.5 million acquisition of Packard Bell by Taiwan-based Acer, the European Commission (the executive branch of the EU) ruled that the two companies as a combined entity would pose no threat to fair competition in the European PC market.

"The Commission's examination showed that the proposed merger would entail horizontal overlaps for desktops and laptops, both for professionals and consumers, at the EEA (European Economic Area) and national levels," the ruling read. "However, the market … Read more

Through a rather circuitous route, Acer finally brought home the prize it had long been eyeing: European PC vendor Packard Bell.

The Taiwan-based computer maker officially purchased 75 percent of Packard Bell parent company PB Holdings for $48.5 million, according to a statement made to the Taiwanese Stock Exchange Thursday, PC World is reporting.

Acer has been the fastest growing PC company in the world over the last year, rising through the ranks to become the No. 3 PC vendor at the end of 2007, with 8.9 percent of the overall market, according to research firm Gartner.

It'… Read more

Despite some anticipation of weakening U.S. consumer confidence, PC shipment growth here nearly doubled between the third and fourth quarters of 2007, to reach 8.8 percent, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report released Wednesday.

Dell actually expanded its market share in the fourth quarter, after a string of disappointing quarters while it reshuffled its ranks and its product lineup. Dell used momentum derived from its new retail push to drive its shipments up by more than 15 percent in the quarter--growth far ahead of the rest of the U.S. The Texas PC maker finished … Read more