ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

Dell fiscal Q3 2013 consumer revenues drop by -23% Y-o-Y to $2.5 billion (with $65 million in operating losses) as the general PC market continues its global downwards spiral.

Overall Dell revenue for the quarter is also down-- -11% Y-o-Y (or 5.3% Q-o-Q), reaching $13.7bn. Earlier analyst forecasts hoped for Dell revenues showing at least 3% Y-o-Y growth.

EMEA is the worst hit region, with revenues dropping by -15% Y-o-Y.

The company hopes the situation will improve through post-Windows 8 shipments, even if it is somewhere between a rock and a hard place in PCs-- Lenovo and Asus (the only two PC makers actually showing growth during Q3 2012 according to Gartner) on one side and consumer preference for mobile devices on the other.

As Dell CEO Steve Felice admits “growth in [PC] space continues to occur predominantly in the low value and entry-level desktops and notebooks, where we’ve chosen not to participate, and in tablets.”

Maybe the above results will point the company towards further dependence on enterprise-- Dell Enterprise Solutions and Services grow by 3% (to $4.8bn) and server and networking products reach 11% Y-o-Y growth.

However it also sees declines in large enterprise (-8%), public (-11%) and SMB (-1%) revenues, reflecting the current mood of the global economy.

Go Dell Q3 Results

Darty revenues disappoint during the 1 May - 31 October 2012 period, dropping by -2.2% Y-o-Y due to poor performance within both domestic and developing regions.

Revenues are down by -3.9% in Darty's home France, while revenues for Darty Italy, Turkey and Spain drop by -2.6% in a situation the retailer describes as "challenging."

Other "established" Darty outlets (BCC, Vanden Borre and Datart) show 3.7% revenue growth.

Online sales represent around 11% of total Darty product sales, delivering "strong growth" according to the retailer.

Darty also continues the search for a new CEO, following the stepping down of Thierry Falque-Pierrotin back in September 2012. In the meantime it appoints 4 independent non-executive directors "with strong Continental European, retail, service and multi-media backgrounds."

Go Darty H1 2012 Trading Statement

With Steam soon available for the Linux operating system, some gamers might want an appropriate laptop-- such as the Bonobo Extreme from open-source machine builder System76.

The base Bonobo Extreme model has a 17.3" display and carries an Intel i7 3630Qm 2.4GHz processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 670MX 3GB GPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 7200 RPM HDD, 8x DVD drive and an 8-cell battery.

The keyboard is backlit (with a variety of colours) and the trackpad comes from Synaptics.

Ports include HDMI, DisplayPort, ethernet, eSATA/USB 2.0 combo, USB 3.0 and S/PDIF out.

Go System76 Bonobo Extreme

Following a recent sale Olive announces an updated music server lineup  for launch during 2013-- the 4HD and 5HD Music Systems and the next-gen 6HD Music Server.

The 4HD and 5HD carry 32-bit/384kHz TI Burr-Brown Digital-to-Analog converters and dual HD amplifiers. The 6HD has a fully balanced differential DAC design with x2 Burr-Brown PCM1792A and a linear high-precision power supply with custom toroidal transformers.

Connectivity comes through the wireless HD docking station, integrating music streaming services (Spotify, Pandora) and content from iOS/Android devices, PCs, Macs or NAS.

Powering the three systems the new Music OS-- a touchscreen-based interface promising better animation and complete UI customisation options.

The HD Music Systems are available in 2TB capacity. The 4D ships in high-gloss white, while the 5HD and 6HD come in an anodised finish as well as a built-in CDRW system.

Go Olive Unveils Line of Amplified HD Music Systems and Music OS