Notebook News: Dell Inspiron XPS Issues Followup, Gateway and Biometrics, Notebook Sales

Gateway Gives Option of Biometric Data Security in Notebook

Gateway this Wednesday announced that it will provide users with the add-on option of fingerprint sensor security with its 450+ notebook model series. This means you can password protect your notebook using your own unique fingerprint. This has been done before by HP in their PDAs such as the iPaq 5400 series. Putting an option such as this on a notebook appeals mostly to government and business buyers who care more about keeping data secure that resides on the notebook than anything to do with actual notebook cost or specs.

The sensor is an optional feature that can be built into the palm rest of the Gateway 450+, the company said.

"This is a security measure that is easy to implement and does not require a major transition to a new technology like smart cards," Mike Stinson, vice president of Gateway's mobile products group, said in a statement. "It also addresses the important issue of minimizing ongoing IT costs associated with password management."

The Gateway 450+ weighs 6.11 pounds and is 1.3-inches thick. It uses Intel's Centrino wireless technology, including Pentium-M processors running at 1.5GHz, 1.6GHz or 1.7GHz. The notebook is available with Windows XP Home or XP Pro software. The option should be available this Thursday

Dell Inspiron 9100 and XPS Shipments Resume

Dell has resumed shipments of the Inspiron XPS system and Inspiron 9100 notebook computers. As reported yesterday by NotebookReview.com, many customers were experiencing major delays in the shipment time assigned to their Inspiron 9100 notebooks. It seems that Dell has solved whatever the issue is now and resumed shipping. According to Dell spokesman Venancio Figueroa:

"We saw a condition with both the Inspiron XPS and the Inspiron 9100: we determined the root cause, fixed it, tested it and it is now resolved. Shipments of the laptops were on hold but resumed last week."

Figueroa wouldn't say what the problem was exactly though. It would have been nice to have received a little more notice on this delay in shipping, people such as myself saw the ship date pushed out a month without any explanation from Dell.

Rumor has it that there were graphic card issues that were causing lockups in the notebooks, but Dell simply refuses to point a finger at any one issue.

Very Strong Notebook Sales for February 2004

Personal computer demand, especially for notebooks,was strong in February with sales having grown in the high-teen percentages from the same period a year earlier, market research firm NPD Group said on Thursday.

"Sales volumes were pretty strong across the board, not just in retail but in some direct mail channels," NPD analyst Stephen Baker said. NPD tracks sales through distributors, giving it insight into corporate demand as well.

"Whether it's because people are buying a lot of computers now or because they just weren't buying a lot last year, we expected that we would show some good growth numbers," Baker said.

Analysts expect personal computer shipments to increase in the double digits in 2004 from 2003. Market research firm IDC, for instance, sees an increase in unit shipments of more than 11 percent.