Zotac plans to launch a range of new mini computers this year, including its first models with ARM-based chips, new powerful models with Intel Iris Pro graphics, and an unusual device called the ZBOX 01520 which looks like the ill-fated Google Nexus Q, but rolls up the guts of a tiny PC and packs them into a ball that can sit on you desk or TV stand.
The Zotac ZBOX 01520 features an Intel Core i3-4010U Haswell processor with Intel HD 4400 graphics, 4 USB 3.0 ports, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, and an SD card reader.
It also has room for 2 sticks of RAM, a 2.5 inch hard drive or solid state drive and there’s an mSATA port which you can also use for storage.
Like most ZBOX models, the 01520 will come in two versions. The standard unit ships without any memory or storage while the ZBOX 01520 Plus will have 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive. The system supports up to 16GB of RAM and about as much storage as you can fit in the case, and the Plus version doesn’t come with an operating system pre-loaded, so you might be better off just adding your own components.
Zotac hasn’t announced the price or release date for the new model yet, and somehow I missed it when visiting their booth at CES this week. But the folks at Gadget Unit stopped by and shot a short video.
via Techblog.gr
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7 Comments on "ZBOX 01520 is an orb-shaped, Haswell-powered PC"
Nice! An x86 mini PC that’s not white and not glossy! I’m interested.
I’m not a fan of white and/or glossy electronics. They look very cheap and ugly.
would be wicked awesome if it had room for a GPU – even notebook types, like MXM cards.
Not totally on topic but the Nexus Q has had an update to Android 4.4, it was previously running 4.0 with no signs of an update, interpret that as you will. The case just reminded me of one so I wanted to see if they’d grown more useful, perhaps behaving like a chromecast.
Assuming you find a Chromecast all that useful. They seem to have overproduced those to the point where they’ll soon come as a cereal box prize to get rif of ’em.
I don’t even know why Google is even selling the Chromecast to non-developers right now. Even for developers and companies, having no official stable SDK released causes them to not even start developing anything. At least that’s what some devs and companies say when asked about Chromecast apps.
Could have just been a loss-leader product to ensure market confusion through the holiday season. “We’ll sucker them in with THIS so they don’t buy a Roku before we get Google TV to be useful enough to compete” sort of thing.