(Reuters) Intel Corp. said it has opened a one-stop shop for chip designers seeking to bring their product to market quickly and at a lower cost, offering to manage the chip making process from concept to final product. Intel, the world's largest chip maker, will utilize factories in Asia owned by companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and rely in part on its own experience in chip design and project management. The new business, called Intel Microelectronics Services, is not the first to offer complete chip outsourcing services, LSI Logic Corp. is one well-known provider -- but it is likely to make a major impact in the emerging market for such services.
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(Press Release) Crucial Technology has announced new automatic discounts on premium-quality memory upgrades ordered through its website. Online shoppers can now enjoy additional savings when purchasing top-selling memory upgrades in volume. In addition, clearance prices are available on memory upgrades for a variety of systems. Customers will be informed during the online order process if the part they have selected is eligible for an automatic volume discount.

In addition to automatic volume discounts, Crucial now offers clearance prices on upgrades commonly used in today's network environments, including fast page mode (FPM), extended data out (EDO), and PC100 synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) modules.
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(AP) According to a recent AP report, Microsoft has delayed the US release of the Xbox by a week, making the new launch date November 15th. John O'Rourke, director of Xbox sales and marketing, refused to give a specific reason for the delay.
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(Press Release) Compaq Computer Corporationhas introduced a powerful new lineup of consumer products for the holidays, all of which will ship with Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Featuring two all-new Presario notebooks, a sleek new Presario desktop form factor and three new alternatives in printers, the Compaq 2001 holiday line brings the latest technologies to consumers with Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 4 and Windows XP offerings at attractive price points.

Presario 2700 and Presario 700 Notebooks:
Redefining power, freedom and mobile design, the Presario 2700 Notebook PC offers desktop-like performance with the fastest Intel Pentium III processors at speeds up to 1.13 GHz, the fastest graphics processor available, and both a fixed optical drive and hot-swappable FutureBay for just $1,699, which includes a $100 manufacturer's rebate. Even greater savings can be realized when ordered direct from Compaq. The new feature-rich Presario 700 is an innovative, aggressively priced, easy-to-use notebook PC. Capable of handling the most demanding applications with the fastest AMD processors up to 1.2 GHz, the Presario 700 is optimized for affordability for the home or small office starting as low as $999 direct from Compaq.

Presario 1700:
Compaq also re-energized its popular thin and light Presario 1700 Notebook PC, offering Intel Pentium III processors at speeds up 1.13 GHz, starting at just $1,599 at retail, which also includes a $100 manufacturer's rebate, or as low as $1,148 when configured direct from Compaq.

Presario 8000 Desktop PC:
Compaq also revealed a sleek new Presario desktop form factor: the Presario 8000 Desktop PC. Available direct from Compaq, the Presario 8000 is the fastest PC on the market, configurable with either AMD or Intel processors at speeds up to 2 GHz. The ultimate PC for video editing and gaming, the Presario 8000 is still affordable with prices starting at just $1,199.

Presario 5000:
Compaq has also enhanced the long-time favorite Presario 5000 desktop series to offer the latest Intel Pentium 4 processing power at speeds up to 2 GHz at the affordable price of just $899.

Imaging Products:
Compaq also announced today an all-new lineup of imaging products, including a four-function all-in-one printer, a three-function all-in-one printer, as well as the ultimate in photo printing, the Compaq 1400P Color Inkjet Printer. The 1400P features stand-alone digital photo capabilities -- users can print photos directly from their digital camera's memory card, without the need for a PC. The 1400P also offers the highest resolution available (up to 2400x1200 dpi) at any price for PC users or digital camera owners, and is available for just $149.99.

Two all-in-one printers, the A3000 and A4000 were also unveiled. The A3000 color inkjet all-in-one saves time and space by allowing users to create, edit, print, copy, scan and share projects, photos and documents quickly and easily for just $199.99. The Compaq A4000 is a powerful all-in-one device for professional projects, document management and small office tasks, featuring 10 MB of memory for incoming fax and speed dial storage, all for just $249.99.
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(Press Release) Sony's VAIO desktop PCs is getting a features, processor and memory upgrades on select fall models. Seven new VAIO desktop PCs in all will be hitting stores in October. Topping the list is a new VAIO Digital Studio (PCV-RX590G) with Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder feature, with a TV tuner and a DVD-RW drive for watching, recording, storing and sharing digital video.

 The new RX590G model has an Intel Pentium 2.0 GHz processor, 512MB of RDRAM and a high-capacity 100GB hard drive. The RX590G also includes an HPNA modem for households that want to share live TV or recorded video from the Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder; or high-speed Internet access, printers and drives among multiple PCs. The RX590G also features Dolby digital optical output, allowing users to connect the system to a receiver with Dolby digital recorder. The included Dolby Virtual Surround Headphones allow for virtual surround sound without disturbing other family members in the room. The RX590G is expected to sell for about $2,500.

For those homes that can use the high quality entertainment features of the RX590G, but don't want the TV tuner or Giga Pocket feature, there's the PCV-RX580 which features the latest DVD-RW technology for watching movies or recording digital video content. The PCV-RX580 has an 80 GB hard drive and Intel's Pentium 4 1.8 GHz processor and will sell for about $1,650 with a $100 mail-in rebate.
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