Posted 08/09/08 at 04:52:36 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Asustek’s Eee PC mini-desktop has arrived on U.S shores. Its launch follows closely on the heels of Dell’s Studio Hybrid's arrival, which came out less than two weeks ago. The Eee PC box comes with Windows XP pre-installed, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 1GB memory, 80 gigs of hard drive capacity, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet, built-in card reader, four USB 2.0 ports, a microphone-in and DVI-out.

Available in jet black or immaculate white, the box has an asking price of $399 and is available at major online and offline stores. The white box bears more than a passing resemblance to the Wii.

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Posted 07/29/08 at 12:15:54 PM by Paul Lilly

Adding to its colorful Studio collection, Dell today launches its Studio Hybrid, a mini-PC the company bills as the "most environmentally responsible consumer" computer on the market. It could also rank as one of the most affordable PCs, checking in at only $499 without monitor or as low as $699 with a 19-inch widescreen LCD.

In addition to 6 interchangeable color sleeves (or bamboo), the new Studio Hybrid also sports a sideways oriented slot-load DVD burner and several ports, including HDMI, three USB 2.0, DVI, Ethernet, and audio.

Underneath the hood customers can choose between a range of Intel Mobile processors from the T2390 (1.86GHz/533MHz) on up to the T9500 (2.6GHz/800MHz). In addition to the widescreen monitor, the $699 configuration buys you a T2390, 2GB of DDR2-667, a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, 8x DVD burner, integrated graphics and audio, and Vista Home Premium with SP1.

Dell claims its Studio Hybrid line is about 80 percent smaller than the typical desktop minitower, and uses up to 70 percent less energy. Further appealing to the environmentalists, Dell claims its tiny green PC uses 30 percent less packing materials than a typical desktop, almost all of which is recyclable.

Between the recent push towards low power computing and Apple continuing to sell a generation on hip gadgets, Dell thinks it has a winner in its colorful PC with green roots. What do you think?

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Posted 06/23/08 at 10:22:10 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The veneer that embellished Dell’s Mini PC has quite literally been blown away. This was revealed in a leak of the revamped design of the petite desktop. The refined wooden case has made way for a streamlined Plexiglas covering. It has also been rechristened Studio Hybrid. The leak shed some light over its vital specs but the processor still remains shrouded in mist.

However, it is known that an Intel processor will serve as the powerplant. The other specs have been revealed to be 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, WiFi, DVD+R drive, five USB ports, an HDMI port, S/PDIF, DVI, and a memory card reader. The leaked photograph of the desktop is not as promising as the specs - which seem reasonable for a desktop priced between $500 and $700 – as the cameraman clearly didn’t do a great job during his surreptitious photo shoot featuring the Studio Hybrid.

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