The latest in big small things from Asus and MSI
The headquarters of AsusTek Computer Inc., and Micro-Star International (MSI) are a mere 21 kilometers apart in Taiwan, and they seem as close as ever in the South hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Both companies are known for their motherboards, and both are bringing the consumer electronics market a product line with a heavy emphasis on a tiny physical and environmental footprint, Asus with Eee and MSI with Wind.
Asus debuted today a totally unique product in its now expansive Eee brand, the netbook of servers, the D200. The D200 is about the size of a desktop computer (10.8" x 3.85" x 8.11"), with a net weight of 9.5 pounds (4.3 kg).
The "Sku 4" model is equipped with an Intel Atom N270 processor, has 2GB of Samsung DDR2 800 RAM, dual Seagate 500 GB HDDs, and a slot-loading TSST DVD-RW drive. The device also acts as an 802.11n MIMO AP router, and has a 3.5" LCD touch panel on the front to handle network connections and file management. Part router, part server, the D200 is expected to cost $600 and be released in the first quarter of this year. At that price point, it's affordable enough to become a first media server for many who have not yet taken that plunge in their home networks.
MSI, meanwhile, has launched its X-slim 320, a super-thin notebook computer in the new Macbook Air-styled form factor that the venerable Dell entered this morning with its Adamo. With a 13.4", 16:9 display and a thickness of of 0.79" at its thinnest, the X320 weighs in at a scant 2.86 pounds (1.3 kg) when equipped with a 4-cell battery. The X320 uses an Intel Atom Z530 processor running at 1.6 GHz.
