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Page 1 of 1 pages for this article AOpen Mini PC Review by Tuan Huynh
Published: 11/20/2005
Apple has produced some of the simplest yet elegant designs for computers, MP3 players, displays, and even little accessories such as the iSight. Every time Apple launches a product there?s always another company attempting to make a pseudo look-a-like?Lian Li?s 1000, various MP3 players, and now the AOpen Mini PC. AOpen?s Mini PC first appeared at Computex 2005?five months ago. There was plenty of interest in the Mini PC and it was only a matter of time before AOpen would start selling the Mini PC to consumers. Details of the shipping product started appearing at the beginning of the month with an expected availability of November 12th, 2005. It was reported the system would start out at $399 for the base configuration with a Celeron M and Linspire while Windows XP equipped systems start out at $499. Supposedly the system will also be available as a barebones?although there has been no confirmation on pricing or availability yet.
Barebones or not its quite clear AOpen is aiming to keep PC users from making the /switch/ by directly targeting the Mac mini in terms of size, price, and usage. The target market isn?t the hardcore gamer or engineers. Instead the primary target markets are the general consumer and possibly business?. These buyers aim to use a computer for internet surfing, word processing, and instant messaging on a daily basis. 3D performance isn?t too much of a concern in this market as most buyers could care less if they can play F.E.A.R. or not. While the AOpen Mini PC and Apple Mac mini are based on totally different architectures and use different operating systems, they?re both entry-level personal computers for those seeking a simple box for surfing, chatting, interfacing with a digital camera, making home movies, and office applications. As there are no other similar systems on the market, we?ll be comparing the Mini PC to the Mac mini in a different manner than usual. Usually we?d run a bunch of benchmarks, make some pretty graphs and make a conclusion but this time around we?ll be comparing them as complete systems, evaluating the software, hardware differences, and its usability as an entry level system. A closer look...If you?ve made it past the first three pages of this review it?s time to take a closer look at the Mini PC.
Simple and clean is the only way to describe the looks of the Mini PC. It measures in at 16(L) x16(W) x5(H) cm and is 1.5cm shorter than the Mac mini in length and width. The casing is composed of aluminum and has roughly a 2mm thick wall. The top of the casing features little circular indentions for who-knows-what?possibly to assist in extruding the cover. A slot-load 8x DVD±RW dual layer CD-RW drive hides behind the CD-sized slit towards the top of the front?very much like the Mac mini. There?s also an eject button towards the front-top-left that throws off symmetry and just looks very out of place. AOpen has opted to place the power button towards the front center of the case rather than placing it towards the rear of the case like the Mac mini. The power button is different but looks pretty good.
Your typical video output, video outputs, Ethernet, IEEE1394, USB 2.0, and audio jacks grace the back of the Mini PC. There?s a jack for the power brick to the left of the DVI port and a punch out for a wireless antenna lies above the Ethernet port. A rectangular cut out serves as an exhaust vent for the system as well.
The Mini PC comes as a system only without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. It does however come with a power supply, DVI-to-VGA adapter, output dongle for component, S-Video, and composite. The video output dongle allows the Mini PC to connect to HDTV sets and serve as a media PC?a feat lacking by the Mac mini. A driver CD is also included that includes all necessary drivers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and user manuals. < previous - (3 of 15) - next >
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