Although Sony Ericsson just churned out a rather impressive array of new handsets this month, it seems the outfit is still having trouble securing record-setting profits. Truthfully, it's struggling to break even, as evidenced by the second profit warning of 2008 that was issued last week. SE is pinpointing "disappointing European sales of its mid- and high-end mobile phones" as the reason it will likely not see a profit in Q2, and some analysts are suggesting that shipment delays and a dearth of low-end handsets also carry a share of the blame. 'Course, the hotly-anticipated Xperia X1 could certainly make for a lovely Q3, but only time will tell if enough folks shell out for it to make a difference.

Just think -- Zappos has been shipping out shoes .9284 minutes after you order them for years with mere humans running the show. Now, your new kicks will likely be at your doorstep moments after you think of ordering them. Said e-tailer has just completed implementation of Kiva Systems' Mobile Fulfillment System, which will see "a fleet of Kiva's mobile robotic drive units and inventory storage pods" hit the company's Shepherdsville, Kentucky facility. The move is being made to keep its distribution system in tip-top shape even with the addition of new products outside of just footwear, and unless some of those mechs grow a mind of their own, we'd say things should pan out just fine.

[Via CNET]

Just a few months ago, we were all checking out Maxdata's Belinea s.book 1 Mini-Note and expecting huge, just huge things from the company. Fast forward to today, and you'll find those hopes and dreams essentially smashed. According a post on the outfit's website, it has "filed for insolvency proceedings at the Local Court in Essen due to pending illiquidity." Maxdata blames the "high pressure of competition and the immense fall in prices in the IT industry" as the primary reasons for its downfall, and it also makes note that a restructuring effort that launched in 2006 was ineffective (you think?). As it stands, management is now attempting to continue business "with the support of the insolvency administrator, securing as many jobs as possible" and retaining the Maxdata / Belinea brands. Good luck out there, it's a long climb back to the top base.

[Thanks, Jari]

Not like we were really suspecting any issues or anything, but the European Commission has just made public its "unconditional approval" of Nokia's "voluntary tender offer for all the shares in Trolltech ASA." In other words, Nokia's acquisition of Trolltech is officially complete, with today being the final day in which the latter company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Such a cute couple, don't you think?

Famed chip maker Intel is doing more than just buying up Renewable Energy Certificates like they're going out of style. It's cranking things up with a spin-off outfit that will soon be creating photovoltaic cells for solar module makers. Intel Capital is pouring some $50 million into SpectraWatt Inc., and it's being joined by Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund and Solon AG. Aside from making that dough, the new company will also "concentrate development efforts on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of photovoltaic energy generation," and if everything goes smoothly, it should break ground on its manufacturing and development facility in Oregon in 2H 2008 (with product shipping in mid-2009).

It's not like Acer's Gianfranco Lanci (shown right) was hurtin' for cash -- after all, the guy was (and still is) president of the company -- but there's just nothing quite like slapping "and CEO" on the end of said title. Approved by the outfit's Board of Directors today, Mr. Lanci has been promoted to Chairman, while the previous CEO, J.T. Wang, will serve as Acer Group CEO. From what we can tell, there's no hard feelings about any of the moves, and c'mon, it is nice to move from one corner office to another every now and then, you know?

[Via PCWorld]

Quite a bit of time has elapsed since we last saw fit to mention MusicGremlin on these pages, but the long-lost outfit has found itself relevant again thanks to SanDisk. Announced today, the latter firm has acquired the former, and we're told that the acquisition will (expectedly) fall under the Sansa audio / video business unit. According to Daniel Schreiber, general manager and senior VP of the aforesaid unit, MusicGremlin's "digital distribution platform and capabilities will provide SanDisk with adaptive and innovative technology that will play a key role in the development of future Sansa products for consumers," though he didn't elaborate much beyond that. To be frank, we have some serious respect for the Sansa line as-is, so we're quite interested to see what impact (if any) this will eventually have on the crew we've come to know so well.

Just because you haven't seen one on every street corner doesn't mean that HP's Blackbird 002 gaming rig hasn't been around the block a time or two. Still, those of you who haven't found the nerve (or spare change) to pull the trigger can look forward to being tempted even more this summer. Starting soon, the Blackbird 002 will be available in an exclusive configuration at Amazon, NewEgg and select Best Buy, Circuit City, J&R and Micro Center locations. This launch marks the first time the unit has sashayed into B&M outlets, and packed within will be an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 processor, dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT graphics cards, 4GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, 500GB SATA drive, 7.1-channel onboard HD audio, a 15-in-1 multicard reader, 900-watt power supply and an nForce SLI motherboard with RAID support. Said config will run customers $3,299, and a list of locations from which to buy it will be made available on June 29th.

Coincidence is a funny beast, is it not? On the very same day, releases have been put out touching on both of the major navigation deals that have long since been pending. To kick things off, we've got TomTom and Tele Atlas in quite the celebratory mood, as TomTom intends for Tele Atlas' listing on Euronext Amsterdam and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange "to be terminated as soon as legally possible." Can't blame a brother for wanting what's his, right? Moving on, we're hearing that Nokia will receive clearance from EU regulators "to buy digital map supplier NAVTEQ, as no formal charges are to be levied against the deal." It's also noted that the time for sending a statement of objections has passed, so from the outside looking in, it seems the two can at least move forward with their plans.

[Via Washington Post]

Read - TomTom / Tele Atlas deal
Read - Nokia / NAVTEQ deal

Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before, but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC, Verizon is "in deep in talks to acquire Alltel," which of course is America's fifth largest wireless carrier. It's no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late, and unless your memory is totally shot, you'll likely recall that it was just recently "taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal." Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel's current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We'll keep you posted on any developments.

Update: The talks have been confirmed by Vodafone which owns a 45% stake in VZW.

What's this? Some joyous news on the Palm front? No need to Windex your spectacles -- the aforementioned handset maker has indeed managed to up its share of the smartphone market from 7.9% in the fourth quarter to 13.4% today, largely thanks to the popularity of its Centro. In general, analysts seemed quite pleased by the gains, noting that it (along with RIM) were able to take advantage of the 7.5% skid experienced by Apple during the same period. Despite the recent gains, Palm's market share is still down from 23% in Q1 a year ago, but considering the sweeping slump in cellphone sales of late, we'd say this should still go down as a victory -- however minor -- for the firm.

[Via Palm InfoCenter]

According to a state judge in Albany, New York, Dell and its financing arm "engaged in deceptive business practices related to financing promotions for its computers and technical support." The decision, which was just released yesterday, contained quotes from NY State Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi stating that the Round Rock mega-corp dabbled in "repeated misleading, deceptive and unlawful business conduct, including false and deceptive advertising of financing promotions and the terms of warranties, fraudulent, misleading and deceptive practices in credit financing and failure to provide warranty service and rebates." The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo last year, and while Mr. Cuomo was understandably delighted with the outcome, a Dell spokesman made clear that it didn't agree with the decision and it would be "defending its position vigorously." As for potential restitution for NYers, we won't know any of that until further proceedings are held.

[Thanks, Nate]

When Rock fell under administration earlier this month, we honestly had no idea if we'd ever see that swank Pegasus 210 hit the market. Today, we still have no clue about the latter, but we do know that the failed company has been caught by the most impeccably named suitor Planet Earth has to offer: Stone. Reportedly, Stone Group will dish out "an undisclosed sum" for Rock, after which the two will meld together and form an all-powerful, completely unstoppable boulder. Watch out Mount Rushmore, you've got some serious competition now.

[Via vnunet]

Unless you've been squarely camped out under an atypically large boulder the past few months, you aren't apt to be taken aback by this news. Sure enough, handset sales declined 22-percent in Q1 2008, though the industry did move some 31 million mobiles during the post-holiday quarter. It was noted, however, that smartphones comprised 17-percent of all mobile sales, which marks a 10-percent increase from the prior quarter. When taking a look at the top five handset manufacturers, you'll find Motorola shakily perched at the top (27-percent), while RIM slipped past Sanyo to grab the five spot with 5-percent. Check the read link for all the gory details.

Oddly enough, the far-fetched proposal is apt to be accepted. Circuit City has reportedly solicited the services of Goldman Sachs to help "negotiate a deal," which will essentially put the troubled electronics retailer in the hands of someone else. As it stands, Blockbuster looks to be the most interested in picking up the pieces, with billionaire Carl Icahn (Blockbuster's largest shareholder) agreeing to finance the get-together. Of course, it looks as if Blockbuster may be the only outfit interested. Not like that's any surprise, however, as Best Buy itself is having to look to Europe to boost revenues with US consumer spending off from where it once was. The real question here is whether a Circuit City-Blockbuster combo would be the perfect concoction to turn things around for both flagging firms, or will we find that two sinking ships actually do go down faster when anchored to one another?