Mini-PC
BeagleBone Black flies faster than the speed of Pi for just $45
Developers, makers, and hobbyists looking for a beefier alternative to Gizmag favorite the Raspberry Pi will be delighted to learn that BeagleBoard.org has taken the wraps off a 1 GHz ARM-based board named the BeagleBone Black. Though it may look like a slightly more expensive outlay, its manufacturer says that by providing everything needed for display, keyboard and network connectivity right out of the box, the Black provides "a lower total cost of ownership than the nearest competitor." Read More
With the release of its Intense PC back in March, Israel's CompuLab proved yet again that you don't have to sacrifice performance for size when opting for a fanless mini-PC. The company has further strengthened that position by becoming the first to market a low power, small form factor computer featuring Intel's new third generation Core i7 processor. Read More
Israel's CompuLab has announced a Q2 release for its most powerful miniature fanless PC to date. Designed for customization and extensibility, and based around Intel's second generation Core i processors, the Intense PC features a 6Gbps SATA 3 connection for internal 2.5-inch format hard drive or SSD storage, an HDMI 1.4 port with support for up to 1920 x 1200 screen resolution, and wireless LAN with two antennas. There are more physical connectivity ports than you can shake a stick at, and the unit only draws 8W of power when idle. Read More
CompuLab's fit-PC3 gets redesigned and released
CompuLab has taken the time between announcing its fit-PC3 back in January and actually releasing it to give the low power, fanless mini computer a bit of a redesign. There's more processing and graphics power on offer, support for more memory, two casing designs and something the company has called the FACE Module, which alters the system's I/O capabilities to suit different needs. Read More
The Chrome OS avalanche looks to be gaining momentum, with modular computer manufacturer Xi3 announcing a desktop computer addition to the mobile solutions announced by Samsung and Acer earlier in the month. Set to be a new flavor of the company's soon-to-be-generally-available, CES 2011 Innovations Award-winning modular computer range, the cube-like, low power ChromiumPC will be available with single- or dual-core processors and will benefit from a host of new input/output (I/O) modules currently being developed by the Xi3 Corporation and its partners. Read More
Industrial-grade rugged computer systems manufacturer Stealth Computer has announced its most powerful small form factor PC to date. The Little PC 670 has been designed with Intel's Core i3, i5 and i7 mobile processors, and packs numerous I/O connectivity options into a 6.54 x 6.18 x 1.89-inch (166 x 157 x 48 mm) durable aluminum chassis. HDD storage comes as standard, but SSD solutions are available for applications that require extra-high shock, vibration and temperature protection. There's support for full 1080p high definition playback, and 5.1 Channel audio courtesy of Realtek. Read More
Recently, devices like LG's Tegra 2-powered Optimus 2X have blurred the lines between smartphone and mini-computer but they're still geared towards the former. The Magic W3's primary function is as a handheld computer that also happens to have telephone functionality. What's the difference? The Atom-powered W3 runs on a full version of Windows 7 Home Premium for multi-tasking productivity and includes 32GB of onboard solid state storage. Read More
One of the very first energy efficient mini-PCs to catch my attention was CompuLab's fit-PC2 model, with an ultra-low-power Intel processor, a gigabyte of DDR2 memory and a 160GB HDD. Now, the company has jumped into AMD's camp for the forthcoming release of the fit-PC3, set to become the most powerful member of the company's line of miniature industrial PCs. It doesn't offer quite the same energy efficiency as the previous model, but there is up to 1.6GHz of processing power on offer, coupled with up to 4GB of DDR3 memory and a 2.5-inch SATA3 hard drive. Read More
Israel's CompuLab, makers of the fit-PC range of energy efficient mini-PCs, has announced a new miniature computer powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 processing platform. The Trim-Slice computer is said to offer the rich multimedia capabilities and user experience of a full-size PC at only a fraction of the power draw. It benefits from a fanless design, Wireless-N connectivity, solid state memory and expansion via both a full size and a micro SD card slots. Read More
ZOTAC has announced two new additions to its existing ZBOX Blu-ray range of small form factor, energy-efficient computers. The ZBOX Blu-ray AD03 and AD03 Plus models are described by the company as a potent casual gaming platform and feature high definition graphics and audio, Dual-Core processing power, DDR3 memory, USB 3 and Wireless-N networking. Read More
