The compact netbook-based desktop box sports a slick design but this Hornet’s sting is in its $879 price tag...
Amidst yesterday's roll-out of
Windows 7 touchscreen systems, Acer added its entry into the ‘net-top’ space with the Veriton Hornet.
Yes, ‘net-top’ is an abomination of a phrase – but it’s the tag adopted by Intel to promote desktop systems built on the netbook platform.
It’s an area which Asus pioneered as a spin-off of the Eee PC line through the Eee Box, and now several vendors also offer a hardback-sized desktop containing a netbook’s innards.
The theory is pretty simple. Thanks to their low cost and ‘good enough to do the job’ approach Netbooks became the hot product of the year, and last year, too – Gartner says that Aussie sales of netbook or ‘mini-notebooks’ rocketed to 398% between June 2008 and June 2009, with 97,220 of the little beasties sold.
Net-tops apply the same formula to a desktop, in the hope of yielding a similarly happy ending. So in the case of Acer’s Veriton Hornet N260G you get an Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive (using a standard 2.5 inch notebook drive) and 802.11n wireless.
It also delivers all those convenience features such as a multi-format memory card reader and a generous serving of six USB 2.0 ports (two are handily located on the front, with the remaining four on the rear).
It’s a slick-looking package, too, with some smart thinking such as an over-sized power switch built into one corner of the chassis. The Hornet comes with a keyboard and mouse so all you need do is connect a monitor to either the VGA or HDMI video outputs and you’re good to go.
The pint-sized Hornet becomes the heart of a simple desktop setup,
and can also clamp to the rear of a flat-screen monitor using an industry-standard VESA mountHowever, while the Hornet N260G looks identical to the
Acer Revo, this isn’t the same beast.
The Revo pairs Intel’s peppy Atom processor with Nvidia’s Ion GPU, which contains a GeForce 9400M engine capable of playing 1080p HD video with 7.1 audio and supporting supports DirectX 10 graphics, so you can run Vista and Windows 7 with full high-gloss Aero effects.
The N260G’s video capabilities remain limited to standard definition by Intel’s integrated Intel GN40 Express graphics, so it’ll struggle to deliver smooth 720p.
That won’t be a major issue for a lot of people who just want something like the Hornet as the desktop equivalent of a netbook – a simple PC that’s good enough for using Office, Web browsing, email, social networking and so forth.
What could cruel the deal is the $879 price tag, which is more than for a similar-spec netbook – and which comes with a screen and battery.
Out it this way. Starting at the Hornet’s $879, a mere $20 extra gets you a complete all-in-one Atom-based system from ViewSonic, the VPC100, which includes a 19 inch screen
plus a CD/DVD drive.
This is a far more suitable ‘spare PC for the kids’, assuming they don’t want a netbook in the first place (and we reckon most kid would much rather have a laptop than a desktop). It’d probably suit a lot of older folk with basic PC needs.
Additionally, $120 above the Hornet sits Dell’s Studio Hybrid desktop – a sexy-looking
real PC with a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor and CD/DVD drive.
So while the Hornet has some pleasing traits, that $879 sticker shock is something it can do without...