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

SanDisk launches the Memory Vault-- a ruggedised flash drive making part of the company's new long-term photo and video storage series.

It uses "Chronoclock" technology, a proprietary memory management solution incorporating "the key elements of advanced solid-state storage".

SanDisk says the Memory Vault preserves data for up to 100 years, after carrying out accelerated temperature cycling tests.

With a low-profile metallic body, the Memory Vault will be available in 8GB and 16GB models.

Go SanDisk Memory Vault

IHS iSuppli says the WW PC market shows signs of recovery in Q2 2011-- with global shipments growing by 3.7% Y-o-Y to 85.6M units.

In comparison Q1 2011 shipments total 80.8M.

The analyst attributes the growth to IT departments refreshing their hardware-- allowing the top PC vendors (HP and Dell) to maintain their leadership.

HP shipments for Q2 2011 total 15.4M (with 2.8% Y-o-Y growth) while Dell shipments total 10.5M, growing by 3.9% Y-o-Y.

Michael Dell still believes in the PC market, or so he tells The Financial Times-- with the company set to gain market share as HP goes through "restructuring".

However Dell has "little interest" in purchasing the HP PC business, out for sale since last month.

Dell tells the FT "...the devices and the hardware still matter as part of the complete, end-to-end solution."

The company is the 2nd largest PC vendor, with 12.9% global market share according to IDC-- with HP being the biggest, with 18.1% share.

While Mr. Dell does not believe we're already in the "post-PC" era, he neither denies nor confirms rumours of Dell planning to launch a Windows 8 tablet next year.

Dell already launched a tablet in 2010-- the non-too-successful Streak.

Together with all the talk on "commitment" towards hardware, Dell is also investing heavily in the services businesses-- with a number of purchases in the services, storage and networking fields and investment towards cloud computing.

Go Dell Shrugs Off Harbingers of PC Doom (FT.com)

The Sunday Express reports Best Buy is in discussions over the future of its UK operations, following poor Q2 results from its earnings call last week.

The retailer (in joint venture with Carphone Warehouse) was planning to open up to 200 stores when it first entered the UK in 2010-- a plan now "firmly on ice".

It currently has 11 British outlets in total, which will go through a "strategic review".

Best Buy Q2 2011 earnings drop by -30% Y-o-Y to $177M in the US-- the 5th quarter of consecutive losses.

It attributes such losses to a lack of consumer confidence, especially in CE.

The question thus remains-- will Best Buy cut and run out completely from the UK (if not out of Europe in general, another loss-maker) or bear the recession storm?

Go Best Buy in Talks over UK Future (The Sunday Express)

Go Best Buy Q2 Earnings Report