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

D-Link adds to the PowerLine family with the PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit (DHP-309AV)-- a system designed for customers wanting to extend home network reach.

Ideal for areas with limited (or no) wifi coverage, D-Link claims the DHP-309AV delivers internet connections with speeds of up to 200Mbps with 128-bit AES encryption.

Installation is also fairly easy-- simply connect the adapter to the home router before plugging into an electrical socket. Further network expansion is also possible by connecting additional adapters.

Go D-Link PowerLine AV+ Mini Adapter Starter Kit

Rivals will be remain rivals-- according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple just managed to poach top chip designer Jim Mergard from the Samsung ranks.

Mergard is a 16-year AMD veteran, where he was VP and chief engineer before leaving for Samsung. He was one of the leads behind "Brazos," a high-end AMD chip development aiming at portable PC use.

“We are looking for the best and brightest chip heads…” a post from an Apple employee on LinkedIn says.

Judging from the bitter the Apple-Samsung rivalry (one culminating a patent infringement suit worth $1 billion), the hiring sounds less like simple headhunting and more like throwing salt at not-too-old wounds.

At Apple Mergard will surely work on the next generation of iDevice processor. Following that, Apple will have to produce the silicon... with its biggest partner, Samsung.

Go Chip Design Luminary Leaves Samsung for Apple (WSJ.com)

Germany's Otto considers the sale of French mail order subsidiary 3 Suisse, following declining sales and losses in the "high double-digit million" range.

"We have involved banks and are currently examining the market to see which parts could be sold," an Otto spokesman tells both Financial Times Deutschland and Reuters. Otto owns 51% of 3 Suisse, a stake it has been building since 1974-- and does not rule out selling it all.

According to the FTD Otto booked over €50 million in 3 Suisse losses following a -5.6% decline in 2011 sales.

The French Mulliez family (current Auchan owners) owns 46% of the company, while employees own the rest.

Otto already tried to sell off 3 Suisse back in 2011, but pulled the sale when it failed to get the prefferred price of €1.5 billion.

The announcement follows news of France's PPR attempts to sell off its own mail order business and 3 Suisse rival, RedCats. PPR has been trying to sell off Redcats for over a year-- so far with no success.

Go Otto Goes All Out in France (FTD)

Go Otto Eyes Partial Sale of France's 3 Suisse (Reuters)

by Deron Kershaw, Industry Analyst at Gap Intelligence

Gap Intelligence in USA has learned HP will make major changes to its laptop brand positioning when Windows 8 arrives later this month. The most significant change is that the Pavilion dm and dv lines, which currently account for roughly one third of all HP laptops in the US retail channel, will now fall under the Envy brand. HP's Envy brand will continue its shift toward the mainstream to make way for the flagship Spectre brand at the top. HP is expected to use its TouchSmart, Folio, and Sleekbook trademarks to further differentiate products by form factor and functionality within each line.

2000 - HP will continue to release new 2000-branded laptops at least through the end of this year, but has plans to eventually phase the brand out. Although speculative, gap intelligence expects the Pavilion g line to eventually include the $399-$449 products, while the Compaq brand remains as the entry-level budget option.

Pavilion - HP's Pavilion line will gain Sleekbooks, but will otherwise be almost exclusively attached to the G series moving forward. The Pavilion dm, dv, and m series will now fall under the Envy brand, which was confirmed by several new product listings on HP's website, including the Envy dm4, Envy dv6, and Envy dv7.