pcs

PCs showing 'severe slump' as HP slips to No. 2

It's even uglier than thought in the PC market, new data today shows.

IDC says the global computer market "withdrew sharply" in the third quarter, with shipments falling 8.6 percent from the prior year. The tech research firm had expected a decline of just 3.8 percent -- what it called a relatively quiet quarter as companies prepare for the upcoming Windows 8 launch.

Rival Gartner, meanwhile, said shipments slid 8.3 percent to 87.5 million units, worse than its expectation for a 6.5 percent decline.

Both firms noted that back-to-school promotions weren't … Read more

T-Mobile: Today's 4G LTE is good, but ours will be great

T-Mobile USA may be behind its rivals when it comes to 4G LTE, but that doesn't mean it's mincing words about its ambitions.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless may be able to boast of a super-fast wireless connection now, but T-Mobile believes it can one-up both of them when it finally gets its LTE network rollout going next year.

"LTE today is good, but LTE tomorrow can be great," Ray said in an interview with CNET today. "That's the opportunity we hope to secure and differentiate ourselves with."

The key to T-Mobile'… Read more

PC shipments to decline for first time since dot-com bust

In case we needed any more evidence about a grim PC market, IHS iSuppli has clinched it.

Worldwide computer shipments are set to decline this year for the first time since 2001, the tech research firm says today. That means the market will total about 348.7 million units in 2012, down 1.2 percent from last year.

IHS noted that the year started out promising, with Intel and PC makers touting thin-and-light ultrabooks at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But quarterly sales have proved to be disappointing, and the usual boost from the key back-to-school season "… Read more

Ultraslim PC shipments to hit 65 million by 2015, researcher says

The ultraslim PC market, which includes ultrabooks and the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display, is set for explosive growth in the coming years, according to one researcher.

Last year, just 3.4 million ultraslim PCs were shipped worldwide. By 2015, that figure will grow to 65 million, according to new data from NPD DisplaySearch. By then, ultraslim PCs will account for a quarter of all mobile PC shipments.

As NPD DisplaySearch notes, ultraslim PC adoption has been quite slow. According to the researchers, that has been due to high prices across the line and "a lack … Read more

What T-Mobile's merger with MetroPCS means to you (FAQ)

Deutsche Telekom is doubling down on its U.S. wireless subsidiary T-Mobile USA with a plan to buy the prepaid regional carrier MetroPCS. But what's it mean for wireless subscribers?

Yesterday, Deutsche Telekom announced it had agree to buy MetroPCS and combine it with T-Mobile USA. The move is an indication that T-Mobile's German parent isn't giving up on the wireless carrier, which spent most of last year in a holding pattern while regulators considered AT&T's $39 billion bid to buy the company. Regulators didn't like the idea of the No. 2 AT&… Read more

Sprint mulls outbidding T-Mobile for MetroPCS

Sprint may want MetroPCS for itself.

Bloomberg reports that the number-three U.S. wireless carrier is considering its own offer for prepaid provider MetroPCS, which yesterday announced a deal with Deutsche Telekom to merge with the U.S. wireless provider T-Mobile.

The news service says that Sprint, which had been close to its own deal to buy MetroPCS earlier this year, is talking to advisers about whether it should offer a higher price to buy the company. Sprint had been re-evaluating a play for MetroPCS a few weeks ago before T-Mobile announced its deal, unnamed sources told Bloomberg.

On Wednesday, … Read more

MetroPCS merging with T-Mobile

Wednesday's CNET Update shakes up your prepaid world:

T-Mobile USA announced it will merge with the prepaid regional cellphone carrier MetroPCS. If the deal is approved, there will be no changes until the first half of 2013. The CEO of T-Mobile said this merger will make the company a leader in no-contract offerings. That's a direct challenge to Sprint, which has its prepaid business with Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Assurance Wireless.

October 26 looks like a busy day for Microsoft. Not only is that the day that Windows 8 and the Surface tablet arrive, but Microsoft may also launch its Xbox Music service, … Read more

T-Mobile CEO: MetroPCS deal is no Sprint-Nextel repeat

The planned merger between nationwide carrier T-Mobile USA and prepaid provider MetroPCS is not a repeat of the failed merger between Sprint and Nextel back in 2005, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said during a conference call with the press today.

This deal, he said, is about gaining more spectrum in an effort to challenge bigger competitors like AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

"This is not a Sprint/Nextel do-over," Legere said. "This deal is not about simply surviving. It's about driving growth. When we add MetroPCS to the aggressive challenger strategy (of T-Mobile) it will … Read more

T-Mobile, MetroPCS look to eat Sprint's prepaid lunch

A combining of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS could make for a potent player in the rough-and-tumble prepaid business.

T-Mobile has over the past few years expanded its no-contract options for consumers, giving it a badly needed source of customer growth. MetroPCS, meanwhile, has long been an aggressive -- albeit small -- provider of prepaid services with experience in running a low-cost business.

Together, the companies could present a challenge to Sprint Nextel, long the biggest champion of no-contract services with multiple prepaid brands under its umbrella. T-Mobile and MetroPCS today touted the establishment of the "leading value-focused wireless carrier&… Read more