Archive for August, 2009
Unboxing the new Lenovo IdeaCentre C300 nettop
Lenovo sent us their new entry in the nettop ‘All-In-One’ market today – the IdeaCentre C300. The C300 is a combination of a 20″ widescreen display coupled with a single or dual core Intel Atom 230 or 330 (dual core) processor.
There are three models in the C300 lineup, ranging from this $449 entry level model, up the $699 top of the line dual core version. Graphics are supplied by Intel’s integrated Media Accelerator in the first two models of the lineup, but the highest spec C300, gets grahpics from ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 4530 PCI Express card, packing 512mb of dedicated memory. Hard drives range from 160gb in the entry level model up to 640gb and RAM comes is available from 1-4gb.
The full lineup and specs can be seen here at Lenovo, while the C300 is already selling for $449 here at Amazon (via TigerDirect).
Lenovo IdeaCentre C300 All-In-One nettop
We’ll have a full review of this new nettop later this week, but on first impression we’re impressed by the form factor of this nettop from Lenovo. From the keyboard to the PC itself, Lenovo seems to have made an effort to keep the size and footprint of this nettop to a minimum. Fit and finish seems good, but the high gloss piano black surface on the nettop and keyboard is already covered in fingerprints. Setup was a breeze but we were surprised to see a PS/2 keyboard connector instead of USB, but that does free up a USB port otherwise used.
See the full set of unboxing pictures after the break, and don’t forget to check back later this week for our in-depth review.
Dell Zino Inspiron HD
Dell showed us a first glimpse of the Inspiron Zino HD, which if we go my form-factor could very well be a nettop. Dell gave away very little else, but did mention it would feature ‘desktop parts’. Does that mean it won’t have Intel Atom and Nvidia Ion inside? Probably, but we’re hoping we’ll be pleasantly suprised. The back of the Mac Mini-esque enclosure features a whopping 4 USB ports, and HDMI out among others.
Read past the break for another shot of the new Inspiron Zino HD.
Ion Powered Nettops from Viako and FunTwist
The market is starting to boom with new Ion powered nettops. Here, we have two new nettops with Ion inside, the FunTwist Fiono 330 and the Viako Mini E. Both of these nettops use Intel’s Atom 330 Dual core processor coupled with the Nvidia GeForce 9400M (Ion) graphics.
The FunTwist Fiono 330 was checked out by Akiba PC Watch earlier where they ran down some of it’s specs. It has HDMI, S/PDIF and DVI out along with the usual assortment of USB, ethernet and audio ports. The machine weight in at just 2 pounds and measures 7.6″ x 5.4″ x 2.2″ while keeping room for a 2.5″ hard drive and up to 4gb of ram in dual slots.
The Viako Mini E nettop has VGA, DVI and HDMI out, 2gb of RAM a 320gb remote control as well as built-in Wifi and a wireless remote control.
Both the Viako and the FunTwist, with their diverse video-out options, seem to be gunning for the popular home theatre pc market.
Lenovo C100 All-In-One Nettop
The IdeaCentre C100 was on display at the gdgt launch party last night running Windows 7 and featured touch features. It’s rumoured that this model will be available later this month, running Vista and sans touch features for just $400. The touch-enabled Windows 7 version should be available in October, possibly with a higher price tag.
Lenovo showed off an all-in-one nettop with a 20 inch display and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor. The Lenovo IdeaCentre C100 will ship with 1 to 2GB of RAM, an 80GB to 160GB hard drive, and a DVD burner. WiFi and a webcam are said to be optional, but to be honest, we’d be suprised if WiFi wasn’t included as standard.
Viewsonic has launched a new range of nettops, including this pair, the ViewSonic VOT120 and VOT121. Both of these tiny nettops that can be mounted to the back of your computer monitor, or television monitor.
Spec-wise, the VOT120 and VOT121 feature Draft-N WiFi, and a DVI output port to connect to your monitor. Somewhat oddly, they also include an eSata port to connect external storage.
The VOT120 is based on Intel’s Atom processor, while the VOT121 packs more of a punch with Intel’s CULV platform.
