The Shuttle X27, which we reported on last week, is small physically. Turns out, so is the price.
(Credit:
Shuttle)
Shuttle let us know Thursday that the miniscule desktop will start at $189--sans monitor, and peripherals, like all Shuttle PCs. It will be available in mid-September.
Now, $189 isn't the cheapest PC Shuttle makes. But that's the lowest price we've seen thus far in the emerging Nettop category, or small desktop PCs bearing Intel's low-power Atom processor.
The Eee Box from Asus, another Nettop, goes for $350. CherryPal, a newcomer to the space, makes a tiny desktop that keeps most data in the cloud, has a Freescale processor, and is to sell for $249.
Cheap is good, but as my colleague Rich Brown points out, is there actually a large market for these small, low-power PCs when you can get a full-fledged desktop for about the same price?
Shuttle plays to the nichiest of niche markets--people who love Linux--so that's probably not its biggest concern. But the company is clearly hoping PCs that can cut down their power usage and space, as it promises with the X27, will catch on.
As if Shuttle PCs weren't small enough already.
The small-form-factor PC maker is set to release an even smaller desktop, its X27 mini-desktop with Intel's Atom processor in mid-September, the company told CNET News.
(Credit:
Shuttle)
The X27 falls into the Nettop category, a small desktop with Intel's low-power chip. Shuttle says it's so low-power that even when running full speed, the noise level only reaches 23 decibels. Plus, it promises the computer uses just 23 watts of power in idle mode, and 36 watts while in use.
Shuttle says it saves space too, measuring approximately 10 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 2.75 inches tall. It's about the same size as the $350 Atom-based Eee Box from Asus. Dell is also making a tiny desktop, the Studio Hybrid, which has a Core2Duo processor from Intel.
A few more specs:
*Intel 945GC chipset
*Intel GMA 950 onboard video
*4 USB 2.0 ports
*Gigabit Ethernet port
*Analog 5.1-channel audio
No word yet on pricing.
It's likely that more than a few would-be Mac buyers who decided that for whatever reason they couldn't part with Windows ended up with a VAIO. All PC manufacturers place an importance on design, of course, but no two more than Apple and Sony. Both companies recently put out updates to their all-in-one and small-form-factor systems. Let's take a look at how they compare.
Apple's latest iMac effort returns the shape and stand of the previous iteration but adds an anodized aluminum finish to the enclosure and a glossy glass panel to the display. The case is made from a single piece of aluminum, which means nary a seam to collect dust or dirt except for around a small panel on the bottom you can remove to add more RAM. With its VAIO LT19U, Sony has really taken a step forward, but to this reviewer's eyes, it's still no match to the iMac in terms of overall design. (There's a surprising gap in price, which is also not in Sony's favor.) Sony goes for the floating-in-space look with the VAIO LT19U, using a clear strip of plastic in the frame. No question it lends the system a unique look, but the overall appearance looks busy to me because the clear section of the frame sits between a gray bezel that frames the display itself and a thin gray border on the outer edge. I prefer the cleaner lines of the iMac, with its simple black bezel surrounding the screen and a thin strip of aluminum showing along the sides and top that elegantly widens below the screen. The thicker bezel on the VAIO also makes the size of the screen seem smaller. To its credit, Sony cleaned up the back its all-in-one, which previously looked like the underside of a laptop with black vented plastic interspersed with ugly white manufacturing stickers.
Apple didn't change the design of the Mac Mini. It didn't have to; the Mac Mini just about the smallest SFF PC you'll find (without venturing into Stealth territory), and it's an undeniably cool-looking little PC with that anodized aluminum again along the sides, a Lucite top, and a rugged rubber base. Sony's VAIO TP1 has been widely compared to a Roomba in appearance, so I'll choose another object: a toilet paper dispenser. You know, the kind you find in public restrooms where the toilet paper is inside the thing. (Perhaps that's why Sony calls it the TP1.) I appreciate Sony taking a risk here, but this VAIO looks more odd than good. It looks more like an accessory you'd add to the first flat-panel iMac of yore rather than a PC you'd buy today. Add the fact that you can get two Mac Minis (and a copy of Vista Home Premium) for the price of a lone TP1, and it's hard to make an argument (You absolutely need an HDMI port? You hate right angles?) for Sony's round PC.
What's your take on Apple's and Sony's desktop designs? Let me and Crave readers know below.
Care more about features than design? See all the specs compared here.
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