14 DAY TRIAL // Over the last couple of years, Zotac has released a wide number of Mini-PC solutions based on Intel Atom processors, but the company has decided to go in a different direction with its latest line of AMD Fusion-powered Zbox Nano devices, which just started selling in Japan.
Just like its name implies, the Nano is one tiny computer as is housed inside a compact case, which measures just 127x127mm, making it one of the smallest SFF system to be based on AMD's APUs.
Despite its minute size, the insides of Zotac's latest creation hide an E-350 accelerated processing unit with two Bobcat computing cores running at 1.6GHz, a CPU integrated Radeon HD 6310 discrete-class graphics processing engine as well as the UVD3 media decoder that can playback Full HD 1080p video streams.
An AMD E-450 version of the Nano should also be available shortly, but, until then, users have the option of choosing between a barebone unit, destined to DIY-ers, and a fully configured model.
Despite the different target markets, both units share a similar specs list and sport 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and Ethernet connectivity, a single SO-DIMM memory slot, a multi-format memory card reader, eSATA, two USB 3.0 ports as well as DisplayPort and HDMI video outputs.
To make it better suited for HTPC use, the Zbox Nano also features a front-mounted IR sensor and comes bundled together with a Windows MCE remote.
The fully configured version adds to the list a 2.5-inch 320GB hard drive and a 2GB of DDR3 system memory.
As mentioned earlier, the Zotac Zbox Nano has already started selling in Japan, where the barebone version retails for 27,500 Yen, which translates into about $358 US. The second Nano unit available is priced at 35,000 Yen, or roughly $457 US. (via VR-Zone)