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

Blockbuster's plan of putting itself on auction-- with bids starting off at $290m from Cobalt Video Holdco LLC-- meets opposition from 45 creditors, including Walt Disney Co., Universal studios, Yahoo, landlords and a committee of unsecured creditors.

The opposing creditors accuse the sale proposal of "being aggressive", as it benefits the group of lenders at all other creditors' expense; allowing them to dictate who receives the sale proceeds.

Meanwhile movie studios-- including Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios and Warner Bros.-- form a separate committee representing their interests in the case.

The hearing on the case is now set to continue on March 10.

Go Blockbuster Sale Attacked by Disney, Universal, Landlords (Bloomberg)

Go Blockbuster on Auction Block

Dell will open more than 1000 new retail stores in China, as it sets to expand its sales and after-sales operations in the most populous of markets.

Speaking to Chinese newspaper Global Times, Dell Chinese operations resident Michael Yang says computer demand is still robust in the country, even if its PC market slowed down since last year. Yang expects faster growth for this year, even if the Chinese PC market grew only by 4% in Q4 2010 (according to IDC).

Dell's market share in the region fell to 3rd place, as it was overtaken by Acer in Q4 2010.

In the past years, Dell's Chinese sales strategy involved partnering with the region's big retailers, such as Gome and Suning. Yang says the company's expansion plan involves a sales channel restructuring-- where it will rely more heavily on sales partners to expand its business.

Meanwhile the Chinese PC market's leader remains Lenovo, with 32.2% market share.

Go Dell Plans to Boost its Chinese Market Presence

Here's a long overdue idea: HP announces its latest business laptops will feature a pull-out bottom panel allowing easy access to fan, HDD, memory and networking modules.

Earlier HP models (as in most other laptop models from all other vendors) require users' going for their screwdrivers to open separate panels to access different components.

Not anymore-- at least for EliteBook and Probook clients. With the models' removable parts sitting at the bottom, repairs and upgrades are promised to be alot easier. The company's latest ranges, carrying Core i3, i5 andi7 processors, will start shipping in March.

HP says it also listened to IT departments wanting more durable laptops, as its EliteBook laptops carry additional protection around their screens.

Go HP Business Laptops

Jon Peddie Research (JPR) predicts WW PC gaming hardware spending will get a welcome +27% gain this year, jumping to over $22b across the entire market.

The analyst says such a jump is due to a number of influences-- the natural PC harware purchase cycle (as seen from historical inflection points), modern PC games' increasing system demands, cheaper high-resolution displays, SSDs, and digital distribution services' (like Steam and Direct2Drive) convenience.

Gamers are also tiring of current consoles' limitations, meaning such factors help increase PC gamers' appetites for high quality accessories (such as speakers, headsets, mice, cases, cooling and the like).

JPR also remarks on growth in interest in 3D-capable machines and displays-- as well as in demand by gamers for "wide gamut" displays with resolutions exceeding 1080p (the kind traditionally used by graphic designers).

Finally the analyst highlights the multi billion dollar market opportunities for companies marketing their sub $1000 PCs' game capabilities, thanks to growing customer interest in games on social networks. This is especially relevant for Intel and AMD, as they push the graphics processing within their integrated chips.

Go Jon Peddie Research Announces 2011 International PC Gaming Hardware Estimates