Macau-based computer hardware manufacturer Zotac has been designing tiny, inexpensive PCs for years now. This time, the company’s engineers have really outdone themselves. After going with a bizarre (yet awesome) Star Wars-ish theme in recent PCs, Zotac invested resources and energy in coming up with a tiny PC that’s among the smallest we’ve ever seen.
The result of the company’s efforts is called the Zbox PI320 pico, and it’s so petite that you could literally hook it up to a display, plug in peripherals, and forget it’s there. It measures 4.6 x 2.6 x 0.8-inches, so it can fit right into your shirt or pants pockets.
To get a better grasp on those numbers, the iPhone 6 Plus measures 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28-inches. How often are the devices that we’re supposed to carry around less compact than a contraption made specifically for desktop use?
Food for thought, and while you ponder an answer, here are some other fun facts about the Zotac Zbox pico. Unlike most mini PCs, this box comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing pre-installed, so it’s work-ready out of the box.
Decently punchy for a PC of this size, it packs a quad-core Intel Atom Z3735F processor clocked at 1.33GHz, Intel HD graphics, 2GB of RAM, and a 32GB SSD. Passively cooled, and VESA mountable to third-party monitors, this PC amazingly makes the most of its cramped footprint by including a slew of ports and connectivity options.
Three USB 2.0 connectors, a microSD card slot, Ethernet, and an HDMI port are somehow squeezed on the outside of Zotac’s newest mini-desktop. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 also offered as well.
Listed at various online retailers like CompSource and MacMall, the Zbox PI320 is “temporarily out of stock”, but it should become widely available soon. It can be had for as little as $200.
Minuscule, relatively powerful, and affordable? What more could you want?
