Gartner warns of PC slowdown

Market researcher Gartner cut its forecast for worldwide PC sales growth, citing the weakening economy, and cautioned that growth could fall into the single digits, says globeandmail.com.

The industry is expected to ship 10.9% more computers this year than in 2007, Gartner said, down from an earlier forecast of 11.6%. In 2007, shipments grew 13.4% to 271.2 million units, Gartner estimated in January.

"The consensus among economists is we have a recession," Gartner research director George Shiffler said by phone. "It's not a question of whether there is [a recession], but how deep it's going to be and how long it's going to last."

Asus has confirmed that a touchscreen Eee PC is set for release some time this year, reports Mobile Magazine.

Kevin Lin, Asus president of sales, announced the upcoming 8.9-inch Eee PC will incorporate a touchscreen display, though there doesn't not appear to be any indication that the Eee will suddenly become a convertible tablet PC with a rotating display.

The starting price for the 8.9-inch touchscreen Eee PC will be around $500; Lin added that the Eee Desktop PC would start at $199.

A Malaysian Web site has published specifications and pictures of a laptop unveiled this week by a local computer maker that evidence suggests could be a new version of Intel's Classmate PC for education markets, states Computerworld.

Like the Classmate PC, FTEC Resources' Smart Book is based on a Celeron M ULV processor and comes with a range of options, including a 9- or 7-inch screen and a choice of either a hard disk or solid-state storage, according to a recent report on Malaysia's Lowyat.net.

"The FTEC Smart Book is targeted at children from all ages as young as those in pre-schools as an educational tool and aims to provide them with access to mainstream technology," the report said, adding the laptop is priced at 1 299 Malaysian ringgit ($405 US) or 1 199 Malaysian ringgit, depending on the configuration.