Dell’s new little guy, the Studio Hybrid, breaks below $500

July 29, 2008 by Dave Haynes

PC maker Dell has announced some details and a name for its new micro PC, aimed at the consumer market but undoubted capturing the interest of screen network operators looking for a player that’s small and relatively inexpensive.

Called the Studio Hybrid, Gizmodo is reporting the unit will cost $499 and is available now in a range of cool colors.

Dell’s Hybrid mini PC is pretty much their worst kept secret ever (which is kinda sayin’ something!) but as of now it can officially adorn the desktop corners of eco- and space-conscious college freshmen or slip into entertainment centers for $499. It’s 80 percent smaller than a standard desktop while slurping 70 percent less power, and 95 percent of the packaging is recyclable, plus it comes with a system recycling kit.

There’s also a review of the unit here at PC Magazine online, though the suggestion there is the price is more like $874. Methinks that’s with the fastest CPU, while I saw some other stuff online suggesting there is a lower-end, slower Celeron that is probably more like the $500 number.

And there are snappies here at Ubergizmo.

The unit is 7? by 8? by 3?, which is not as small as the Mac Mini or the little Aopen boxes a lot of people are using (because they’re small enough to slap on the back of a panel or tuck under a counter). But it is still pretty small.

The pros of this sort of thing for our space: cost; reputable, known manufacturer; customer service, among other things …

The cons (and even the Dell guys will say this): it’s a consumer device, not something designed for 24/7 use in environments that may be a lot dustier and crazy than your average home office or college dorm room.

That said, there are an awful lot of network guys out there using consumer devices and, for the most part, getting away with it. This would, however, last about a shift in the grimy air of something like a fast food joint.

There are supposed to be more details here at www.dell.com/hybrid, but as of late last night when I tried, she no work.

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