Dell Computer Corp’s OEM agreement for notebook computers with AST Research Inc (CI No 2,308) was always going to be a stop-gap measure to get the Austin, Texas direct sales pioneer back into the notebook business, but the company has been designing its own line of machines for introduction in the second quarter of the year, and Dell is negotiating with Sony Corp to build the things. They are expected to be high-end portables with wireless communications capabilities, advanced colour screens and an ultra-slim design. Dell declined comment on a report in the Nippon Keizai Shimbun and Sony would confirm only that talks were under way, but the Japanese business daily expects Sony to assemble more than 10,000 of the notebooks at plants in both Japan and the US. NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corp, separately said that Sony would use a motherboard it had designed, and would supply Dell with 10 differ ent models. The Comline News Service suggests Sony will also market the computers under its own name; it has already built some PowerBook models of the Macintosh for Apple Computer Inc.
