VIA Nano-powered Shuttle XS29F gets official

Well, Computex Taipei still hasn’t formally kicked off, but it looks like it’s close enough for VIA and Shuttle, who have now gotten official with that Nano-based small form factor PC that first surfaced earlier this week. Now dubbed the Shuttle XS29F, this particular version comes equipped with the low-power combo of VIA’s Nano U1700 CPU and VX800 media system processor, along with support for up to 4GB of RAM, your choice of SATA II storage options, both VGA and DVI ports, four USB 2.0 ports and, perhaps most importantly, a maximum power consumption of just 50 watts for the entire system. That, as VIA helpfully explains in the video after the break, means the system can ditch all the usual fans and heatsinks and remain nearly silent during operation, not to mention let you save you a bit on your energy bills. Still no word on a price, sadly, but we’re hoping Shuttle will be a bit more talkative once Computex opens its doors.

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VIA Nano-powered Shuttle XS29F gets official originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shuttle goes low-end with VIA-powered ES series nettops

Shuttle’s small form factor PCs aren’t generally the lowest-end options around, but the company looks to be getting down to the basics with its new ES (or Embedded Slim) series nettops, which are apparently set to make their official debut at Computex next week. That of course means that complete details are still a bit light at the moment, but word is the nettops will pack your choice of VIA L or U series processors, the former of which clock in at 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz with some not so great power consumption, while the latter drops down to 1GHz and 1.3GHz with a TDP rating of just 5W or 8W, which also eliminates the need for a fan. No word on a price just yet, unfortunately, but Shuttle should be clearing that up, along with the rest of the specs, soon enough.

[Via Electronista]

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Shuttle goes low-end with VIA-powered ES series nettops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo gets budget-friendly with IdeaPad U350, G550 and IdeaCentre C300

The IdeaPad S12 isn’t the only new kit flowing from RTP today, as Lenovo is also choosing to celebrate Memorial Day with two new lappies and an all-in-one desktop. Starting things off is the IdeaPad U350 (shown above), a thin-and-light machine that packs a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,366 x 768), an HDMI output, an ambient light sensor and your choice of Intel’s 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo SU3500, the 1.3GHz SU2700 or 1.2GHz Celeron 723. There’s also room for a 500GB hard drive, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a GMA 4500M / 4500 MHD graphics set, 1.3 megapixel camera, multi-touch trackpad, twin 1.5-watt speakers, Vista Home Basic / Premium and an optional 8-cell battery good for up to 10 hours of use.

Next up is the business-like G550, which sports a 15.6-inch display, a non-nonsense enclosure, WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD burner and a numeric keypad for crunching those end of quarter numbers. You’ll also get upwards of 4GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, a Core 2 Duo processor, GMA X4500 or GeForce G105M graphics, HDMI output and up to five hours of battery life with the included 6-cell Li-ion.

Wrapping things up is the IdeaCentre C300 all-in-one, which aims squarely at the low-end with a lackluster Atom 230 processor, integrated Intel graphics and a preposterously low price tag. The machine features a 20-inch LCD, up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 160GB to 640GB HDD, Ethernet, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel camera, FireWire, six USB 2.0 sockets, a 6-in-1 multicard reader and a starting price tag of just $449. Not a terrible choice for the devout web surfer in your family, we must say. The full release and specifications list awaits you just past the break.

Continue reading Lenovo gets budget-friendly with IdeaPad U350, G550 and IdeaCentre C300

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Lenovo gets budget-friendly with IdeaPad U350, G550 and IdeaCentre C300 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fit-PC 2 nettop stays slim, gets an Atom upgrade

The original Fit-PC slim may have been able to proclaim itself the “world’s smallest,” but with an 500MHz AMD Geode processor and no more than 512MB of RAM, it had a bit of difficulty with the “PC” side of the equation. Fit-PC looks to have gone some way towards improving that with its new Fit-PC 2, however, which matches the current nettop ranks by adding your choice of an Atom Z530 or Z510 processor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual 1GB of RAM, your choice of 2.5-inch SATA hard drive, built-in WiFi, a generous six USB ports, HDMI out, XP or Ubuntu for an OS, and support for full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. From the looks of it, this one is just starting to roll out now, and will set you back between $245 and $400 depending on the configuration. Still looking for more? Then head on past the break for a quick hands-on video.

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Fit-PC 2 nettop stays slim, gets an Atom upgrade originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 May 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dozens of IONs captured showing no charge whatsoever

Dozens of IONs captured showing no charge whatsoever

Ions have negative or positive charges, but from what we can tell from the suite of pictures captured by ION Based, the next set of ION devices will simply lack charge altogether. All these dozens of images purport to show the future of the platform, netbooks and nettops with HDMI outputs, but there’s not a single blinking LED showing signs of life. For all we know these devices could be empty shells holding only the crushed hopes and dreams of hardware engineers worldwide. The laptop pictured above is especially discouraging, showing a misaligned HDMI port peeking out of a distinctively VGA-shaped hole, partially blanked with white plastic. We want to believe in ION, but it’s going to take a little more than this.

Dozens of IONs captured showing no charge whatsoever originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zotac Ion-based IONITX-A SFF motherboard review roundup

Jonesing for a new small form factor PC, are you? Not so keen on selecting a pre-fabricated unit? If you definitely fit the bill here, it’s worth taking a gander at Zotac’s recently released IONITX-A motherboard. As the first of its breed to actually ship, a whole lot is riding on its solder points, and according to reviews found ’round the web, it’s done a satisfactory job of living up to expectations. The test bench-abusin’ kids over at Hot Hardware found that Zotac’s board (and the included dual-core Atom 330 CPU) performed “as expected,” notching results that were “significantly better than any of the single core Atom 230-based systems.” The unique DC power input was also lauded, and the silent nature made this a perfect candidate for a low-power, highly-capable carputer building block. All in all, this here mobo won’t transform your life, but it’s certainly a welcome extra in the all-too-stale DIY SFF market. Check the links below for all the bar charts you can handle.

Read – Hot Hardware (“most appealing of the Ion-based products”)
Read – PC Perspective (“an impressive motherboard for its size”)
Read – The Tech Report (“as good as the Ion platform gets”)
Read – Tom’s Hardware (“it’s most promising destination is in the HTPC space”)

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Zotac Ion-based IONITX-A SFF motherboard review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer AspireRevo review

We’ve been thrilling to the ride of Acer’s Ion-powered AspireRevo for a couple of weeks now, and despite its diminutive size and price tag, there’s plenty to talk about. The model we tested included an Atom 230 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 250GB 2.5-inch HDD for what we’ve heard will carry a suggested retail price of $299. Check out our full impressions after the break.

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Acer AspireRevo review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS EeeBox PC B208 with discrete graphics, HDMI-out in June?

If we’re to believe a pre-sales agent’s response to a query about the availability of the EeeBox PC B208, then ASUS’ little HD nettop with dual-core Atom 330 processor, ATI Radeon HD 4530 graphics, and HDMI-out should pop for retail in June — for the UK anyway. A box that looks to be the ideal low-cost ($500ish), quiet (26dB), home theater PC riding your in-house 802.11n WiFi or gigabit Ethernet network. With Acer’s Ion-powered AspireRevo hitting the UK in May, ASUS had better hope for a June launch at the latest.

[Thanks, Thomas C.]

ASUS EeeBox PC B208 with discrete graphics, HDMI-out in June? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qbox-N270 nettop hits the FCC

You gotta love it when three small numbers give away virtually all of a product’s specs, but such is the age of Atom — one look at Foxconn’s QBox-N270 in the FCC database and we knew that it was packing a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and at most a 160GB drive. Actually, the most interesting thing about this Linux-powered rig other than the lime green case is that it has a modem port — is this the nettop rural America has been screaming for? Only time will tell.

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Qbox-N270 nettop hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zotac jumping in Ion-filled waters with new Mini-ITX motherboards

We’d heard a few whispers rolling through the gentle breeze that Zotac would be hopping on the Ion bandwagon early on, and sure enough, it looks like said firm is indeed latched on. Reportedly, the outfit will be producing a few Mini-ITX motherboards in the near future that support Intel’s Atom 230 / 330 processors and come loaded with NVIDIA’s GeForce 9400M G chipsets. The mobos would also include all of the basic amenities: Ethernet, two RAM slots, HDMI / DVI / VGA outputs, a trio of SATA ports and a WiFi module. There’s still no word on what system maker is looking to slap these into their next-generation nettops, but who knows, maybe this will end up being the first standalone Ion-based board for the DIYers in attendance.

[Via Expreview, thanks Shawn]

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Zotac jumping in Ion-filled waters with new Mini-ITX motherboards originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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