Two new ASUS Eee Box nettops are in the works, according to listings on the Energy Star website. The ASUS Eee Box EB1002 and Eee Box EB1006 both use Intel’s Atom 1.66GHz processor, with the former having integrated graphics and the latter an unspecified discrete video card with 128MB of memory.
VIA and Shuttle have put together the latter’s first SSF (small form factor) PC based on the former’s Nano processor. The Shuttle XS29F pairs the Nano U1700 CPU with VIA’s VX800 media system processor, meaning that unlike many nettops the XS29F has both VGA and DVI Dual video outputs.
Video demo after the cut
Intel’s next-gen Atom platform, Pine Trail, may have been reasonably well known before now, but the CPU manufacturer has just released [PDF link] the first official details about the new netbook and nettop chips. Expected to reach the market later this year, Pine Trail’s biggest change is in integrating the graphics core into the processor, slimming down both the overall size and the platform’s power requirements.
Intel have released Moblin v2.0 beta for netbooks and nettops, the latest version of the company’s open-source OS for Atom-based devices. Mobile v2.0 brings with it a new, visually-enhanced GUI, together with the “m_zone” homescreen, integrated Twitter and Last.fm widgets, and a new integrated browser based on Mozilla’s engine.
Video demo after the cut
ASUS have apparently reconfirmed their plans to launch the Eee Keyboard by the end of June 2009, with an official launch taking place at Computex next month. The ASUS Eee Keyboard packs an Intel Atom-based nettop PC into a keyboard chassis, pairing it with a 5-inch touchscreen, for lounge use; back in March the company first revealed they were planning a June launch with a $400 price tag.
Further details on Pegatron’s Intel Atom-based nettop have emerged, courtesy of SiS, and they seem to suggest that the compact PC will not, in fact, use NVIDIA’s Ion GPU. Instead, the Pegatron Ultra Slim Atom Nettop will use the SiS672/968, a low-power chipset that includes high-definition capable graphics and support for two SATA 3Gbps drives. Pegatron will bundle that with the 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 processor and up to 2GB of RAM.
From the very start, ASUS’ Eee Box nettop caught the eye as a potential media PC, and the company themselves threw their hat into the ring with the launch of the Eee Box B206. Swapping the DVI output for an HDTV-friendly HDMI, and slotting an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 GPU with 256MB of its own DDR2 RAM in instead of the integrated graphics, the B206 promises high-definition playback above its humble Atom roots.
The Register have been taking a look at the nettop, and in some ways the B206 does deliver. Standard definition video runs with no problems, and DivX 720p files in Windows Media Player were also smooth; however, the B206 showed itself to be particularly picky about codecs.
The problem is that not all media player apps support DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA), the technology which lets the Radeon HD 3450 GPU get its teeth into the video. Without that, it’s up to the Atom N270 1.6GHz chip to keep things ticking over, and we already know that Intel’s CPU struggles with high-resolution media.
Most of the touchscreen nettops we’ve seen – ASUS’ Eee Top, MSI’s Wind Top, etc. - have been physically very similar, so it’s nice to see Korean firm DignLab thinking a little differently with their own 19-inch all-in-one. The DignLab AIO V1 shrinks down its aluminum bezel to super-skinny dimensions, making the Intel Atom-based nettop look more like a digital photo frame than a PC.
Moneual have announced a new nettop, the MiNEW A10, based on Intel’s Atom 230 1.6GHz processor and running Windows XP. The company is billing the A10 as a basic HTPC, though looking at the specs it’s hard to see how: connectivity lacks even an S-Video port to hook up your TV.
It’s been another week dominated by cellphones here at SlashGear, with our exclusive review of the HTC Touch Diamond2 plus plenty of news from the rival Android smartphone camp. The HTC Magic launched on Vodafone Spain, but we were more interested in the Samsung I7500, a super-skinny slice of 5-megapixel Android loveliness. Check out the live demo video here.
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