14 DAY TRIAL // With the ION 2 graphics processing unit, NVIDIA secured a significant portion of the netbook and nettop market, obviously because this component confers a considerable graphics and multimedia prowess upon whatever device it is placed into. This, of course, goes for the Shuttle XS35, a nettop that, according to a report made not too long ago, will eventually make it to Europe. Now, that very same product has become the subject of another string of rumors, though in a different global region and under a different guise.
Apparently, Europe is not the only area where the nettop will be available. In fact, the United States will also welcome this compact desktop PC, though it will know it by the name of X350. Nothing else will be different about it though. The casing will still be full of holes, literally, and the internal configuration will in no way be different. At least, that's what reports appear to suggest.
The Shuttle X350 was designed by Shuttle to be different from its peers though the mere fact that it is completely passively cooled. In fact, the many holes in the casing itself exist for the sole purpose of enhancing heat dispersion. As for the build itself, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom D510 dual-core chip is paired with the NVIDIA GT218 ION2 GPU. There is room for one 2.5-inch storage unit, as well as a slim optical drive, D-Sub and HDMI and a multi-format card reader. All of these are crammed inside a 1.5-inch thick enclosure.
Essentially, the Shuttle X350 is intended as a very thin machine, capable of playing videos in Full HD 1080p resolutions. Pre-orders, in the US, will supposedly be possible starting later this week. The price is not mentioned, but it shouldn't be far from the roughly 320 Euro that the European version requires.