Michael Robertson inside $399 box
AOPEN caused quite a noise at this year's Computex, with its Mac mini evil twin-brother using Intel CPUs. However, Apple announced a shift to Intel PC architecture a couple of days later.
Altough Aopen announced availability in fall, competiton rumoured heavily about the miniPC being placed into the vast space of great Computex products that never happened. However, things have changed recently, with Aopen finally launching its miniPC in quantity.
The miniature machine will be sold as a barebone PC, with buyer or distributor having the option of filling the small case with either Intel Pentium M or Celeron M processors, and upgrading the memory up to very satisfying 2GB. However, don't expect to be playing Battlefield 2 with breeze, integrated graphics is hidden inside.
Slot loading DVD burner and Gigabit Ethernet card are just added bonuses. What makes this product stand out from the competition is the inclusion of DVI, S-VHS and HDTV (YPbPr) component connectors. This product is Plasma/LCD TV ready, which should prove as a nice selling point.
The price stands at quite affordable $399. For that money, you will get a Linspire powered version (offered by default), while consumers wishing to stay in Billy's dreamland need to shell out $499. Of course, the bundled version is Windows XP Home, but what do you expect for $100? Availability is set for the all-mighty Yuletide, and you can expect there is some serious interest in this baby. The primary market is of course, the United States of America, but you can expect some quantities available in Ol' mother Europe as well.
The INQuirer
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