Habey has a new barebones (no RAM or HDD) called the  EPC-6563.  It uses the 1.83 GHz Intel Atom D525 dual core processor and has 2 memory slots and 2 mini-PCI Express slots for expansion inside a nice steel and aluminum case.  There are also 2 USB ports, an Ethernet jack, VGA and HDMI ports, and S/PDIF audio.  Those two  PCIe slots should come in handy, as you can throw in a TV tuner, HD decoder, wireless card, or other expansion device, which could make this a great platform for your HTPC.

The Habey EPC-6563 is available from Amazon for $199.99.

It’s not quite a nettop, but Brite-View’s CinemaTube may be enough to play your digital content.  Launched today, the CinemaGo BV-5005HD Mini CG is mostly a revamped version of the CinemaTube BV-5005HD,haseSATA interface, USB 2.0 socket, WiFi built-in, a BitTorrent manager and access to MUZEE internet radio channels. The little box is built to handle 1080p output and a plenty of file formats including MOV, WMV, MKV, AVI, VOB, DIVX, FLV and RMVB, and content can be delivered via locally attached hard drives or a home network / web connection.

Perpahs best of all, the $149.99 MSRP is being trumped by a $109.99 pre-order price if you get in now, so really, you should probably get in now. However, if you want the capability to browse the web and pay video from sites like Hulu and Netflix, not the mention the versatility of a nettop, you may want to invest another $100 bucks or so on a fully fledged dual core nettop like the Zotac Zbox for $250 (barebones).

Check out the press release after the break.

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These days, more and more people are giving up their cable tv connection and are watching television content online – via Hulu.com, Netflix or by downloading tv from Bittorrent sites.  If you’re like me, this has started to limit your tv watching to your laptop screen.  But, with a small investment and half a day, you can build a dedicated, silent, home theater PC to connect to your flat screen tv.  This post on Lifehacker covers how to use the open-source XBMC software to run on a $199 Acer Aspire Revo to build a comprehensive home theater PC.

What You’ll Need:

- Acer AspireRevo: This $200 nettop ships with 1GB of RAM, an Intel Atom 230 processor, 160GB
- XBMC Live: This is a Live CD version of XBMC that boots directly into XBMC and has a tiny footprint.  You can find the download specifically set up for these NVIDIA ION machines on this page, you can grab the direct download here, or download via BitTorrent here.
- A thumb drive: It doesn’t have to be huge, but this 8gb Kingston Datatraveler is cheap ($15.95) and will be useful for other projects as well.
- An IR receiver/Windows Media Center remote: This isn’t strictly necessary, but if you want to control your shiny new XBMC via remote control, you’ll need some sort of supported remote with a USB receiver. I got this Mediagate remote for about $30 and it works great. (Incidentally, it also works like a charm with XBMC as soon as you plug it in.)

Read the full post here on Lifehacker how to create XBMC HTPC Nettop. Read the rest of this entry »

Tranquil PC is a UK-based PC maker, and the T7-MP2 is a new system with an Intel Atom D510 dual core processor and NVIDIA ION graphics. The system is optimized for home theater use, and is  nearly silent, thanks to the passive cooling system — there’s no fan.  As one would expect for a HTPC, it has a bevvy of video outputs including HDMI, DVI, and VGA video, and SPDIF and analog audio outputs.

There are 6 USB ports and an eSATA port for additional storae space, and the nettop supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi. There’s no optical disc drive built in, but you an attach one via one of those USB ports.

The T7-MP2 runs Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows Media Center functionality, and it’s compatible with an array of US internet television services including the BBC iPlayer, SKY Player, and ITV Player.

The base model runs £479 and comes with a media center remote control, 2GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive, but you can up the specs if you’re willing to pay a little more. The Tranquil PC T7-MP2 will ship starting on May 30th, but it’s available for pre-order today.

via Netbook News.de