Dell Inspiron Zino HD

Dell announced the Inspiron Zino HD some time ago to moderate praise. Zino is a compact unit in comparison to most desktop PCs, measuring less than eight inches on a side. is based on the model of the Mac Mini, the Dell Zino HD in a nice little box so that it does not involved a lot of unnecessary packaging. Go Dell. The device is clad in a shiny black plastic on four sides and top, the floor is made of a rubber-like black "feet" that prevents the machine to spin while protecting customers from scratching furniture together. 

The front of the machine offers users access to two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack, an SD card reader and the optical drive. A small light-colored square on the right shows the presence of ports, an IR receiver, used to capture commands sent from a supplied remote control. There is also an optical drive, depending on configuration, the drive can play DVDs, burn DVDs or play Blu-ray movies. Both sides are boring, except for two small extrusions on the bottom left. These serve as points of stability in the case of a user decide which should be oriented vertically Zino HD - a common occurrence, given the limited desk and entertainment center space. 

Overall, the unit feels very sturdy, the solid build quality affordable despite its roots. The only real concern most users should be made of shock-trauma, but few desktops routinely carted around, and while moving. Dell also first iteration of the tiny Zino desktops include a range of stylish cover, all optional extras. The new version scales back on some of the modern, ultra-hip designs for more traditional fixed gradients. The lids pop with a short press on the back of the machine, removing and replacing the basic black model with which the ships Zino is a literal snap. The black cover is no extra charge with the Zino HD included, optional (textured) red, white and blue is an unhappy $ 39. Because they are straight blades made of plastic, Dell should really be able to halve the price of this. 

And removal This part is largely unchanged from the original Zino HD. The front of the machine has two USB 2.0 ports (no USB 3.0, sorry), an SD card slot, audio output and an IR receiver. The back of the machine shows two more USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports for high-speed external memory access, analog input and output, S / PDIF audio output, VGA and HDMI video out and Gigabit Ethernet on In contrast to the previous HD Zino, use the new laptop machines across Zinos inside - apart from the hard disk. The last units used desktop CPUs that you update yourself if you were smart enough. It's almost a shame that Dell was going with a full on 3.5-inch hard disk. The main competitor of the Zino, the Apple Mac mini leaves that cheaper memory for a 2.5-inch hard disk. 

While a bit slower, but allows them a much smaller case. Zino is not great, not far-fetched, but it could be smaller still. Perhaps this is something Dell can for the 2011 model change. It is also important to note that this configuration of the Zino (which despite the affordable price, something like a top-of-the-line system) and a Blu-ray Combo readable / DVD + /-RW. Despite the relatively weak growth in the HTPC arena, Dell is ensuring that they have a foot in the door when they want to pursue it. While the Zino unfortunately no place mentioned in the interior of TV tuner chip, the USB device manufacturer offers for sale, if the user want to go that route.