The Atom desktop PC, mostly known for powering a fleet of low cost netbooks - may be coming to a home or office near you. The 'netdesk', as we like to call them, or 'nettop' as some manufacturers refer to, takes its design cue from a compact, form fitting chassis, which hides the bulk of the components within the actual monitor housing.
It might not be the first all-in-one monitor style PC's; these types of PC's have been around for a while now. But, it is unique for its Atom spec and comparatively low cost. It's obviously not going to be suited to gaming or more intense graphical applications such as Photoshop - but for an everyday web surfing machine - it's a smart approach to keeping things simple and stylish.
According to Information Week, Lenovo aims to have the C100 on sale for just $US399 ($AU459) in the US - a handy low cost alternative to the more powerful all-in-one monitors carried by the likes of HP, whom routinely charge beyond $2000 because of higher powered processors and larger hard drives.
However, as a low cost PC with the space saving virtues of looking smart, attractive in an 18.5" LCD monitor, the C100 stacks up very well:
- Intel Atom 230 (or dual-core Atom 330 processor)
- Integrated graphics
- DVD burner
- 320 GB Hard Drive
- 2 GB of memory
- Windows XP
A slightly more expensive C300 will launch with up to 4GB of RAM and a 20" monitor from $US499. Details of an Australian release have yet to be confirmed by Lenovo.
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| The Lenovo 100 is an all-in-one Atom powered PC housed in a 18.5" monitor |