Updated 2:05 p.m. PT: Dell PR provided us with a photo.
How apropos: On Earth Day, a PC company says it's going to make a greener PC.
The yet-to-be-named ultra-small green consumer desktop PC.
(Credit: Dell)We already know Dell wants to be the greenest company on the planet, or in the solar system, or something. So as part of his remarks to the Fortune Brainstorm: Green conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Chief Executive Michael Dell previewed a desktop PC aimed at consumers.
The PC will be 81 percent smaller and will use 70 percent less energy than one of Dell's mini-tower desktops. And the packaging will be totally recycled. Though there's no name for the PC and no pictures (a Dell representative insisted they didn't just come up with the idea on the flight from Austin to LAX, and in fact have been working on it for "a while") the desktop is supposed to be available by the end of the year.
Dell is targeting consumers first with this energy-efficient desktop, which is notable since the company normally rolls out green initiatives on business machines first.
Click here for more Earth Day tech news.
Updated December 3 to include more information about pricing.
The Silicon Valley PC company that made a splash earlier this year with its tiny, energy-efficient desktop has set its sights on the mobility market.
Zonbu announced Wednesday it will sell a Zonbu Notebook and service beginning in early 2008. Like the Zonbu Mini that came out this past summer, the notebook will run on the Zonbu OS, and is rated highly by the Green Electronics Council for its energy efficiency. The key concept behind Zonbu is its service. "People shouldn't have to be their own IT administrators," says Gregoire Gentil, Zonbu's chief executive.
The $279 Zonbu notebook PC
(Credit: Zonbu)The price tag on the notebook--which is manufactured by Everex, another Silicon Valley PC maker--is $279. While that seems awfully low, there is also a $15-per-month subscription fee, which is supposed to save owners the headache of maintaining their own PC. The service includes 20 software applications; free, automatic updates; online storage; remote file access and file sharing; automated backup; online tech support; and hardware replacement in case of damage.
Update: It's worth pointing out however, that purchasing just the notebook costs $479. Buying a 1-year service plan, at $15 per month, will lower the price to $379 for the laptop. But it also means you'll pay a year's worth of fees at $180, which brings the notebook's actual cost to $559. Paying $15 for two years will get the base price to $279, so in that case the total will be $639.
Unlike the Zonbu Mini desktop, there's not much that's "mini" about the notebook. It has a 15.4-inch screen, 512MB of memory, an optical drive, three USB 2.0 ports, and weighs just over 5 pounds. There is only a 60GB hard drive, but online storage is included in the service.
Though it's not officially available until early next year, adventurous types can order one now from Zonbu's Web site with a beta version of the software. The company says when the final version is available, the software will automatically update.
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