Dell debuts Studio Hybrid line of "petite" desktop PCs

Like most product from Dell these days, there's little surprise left in Dell's Studio Hybrid desktop lineup of eco-friendly little PCs. First unveiled as a bamboo-clad concept in April, the computer is finally being released by the hardware giant with a starting price of $499, with interchangeable sleeves of Bamboo, Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Slate and Topaz -- the latter six being of the shiny plastic ilk. Dell isn't slouching on specs though, and seems to realize the potential of the Studio Hybrid -- which can be stood vertically or horizontally -- in the living room. There's an HDMI port standard, along with options for WiFi, a wireless keyboard and mouse, Blu-ray and a TV tuner. Dell doesn't ignore the "green" roots of this project, either, and is including a system recycling kit, along with the natural reduction in packing and manufacturing materials. The Studio Hybrid should be available today.

[Chickenatr Posted Jul 29th 2008 3:58AM]

i thought it's a NAS...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:02AM]

So what's hybrid about this? Oh, i guess I get it...
And if you want a Mac mini, why don't you just buy one? Sure, the Dell is $100 cheaper, but only if you ignore the shipping and then again you find yourself with a miserable Celeron CPU and neither WiFi nor Bluetooth or a remote.
And don't tell me that measly $5 keyboard and mouse make any difference.
Spec it up a bit and the price difference is gone.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:02AM]

Oh, and Dell: PLEASE get rid of whoever 'designed' this hideous enclosure.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:05AM]

I hate this once again. I did blog about their "eco_friendly" PC before here
http://blog.blogtronix.com/blogtronix.com/359
This is crazy and absolutely insane. So, since the metal is more expensive than bamboo, let's use bamboo now, and cut more trees? Come on Mike, you guys can do better.

[Deathknell Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:32AM]

Trees grow back, sweetheart.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 5:00AM]

Bamboo grows faster than dandelions, and spreads faster than weeds. If you plant any in your yard, you have to go out every single day to make sure it isn't taking over.

There is no bamboo shortage, and there never will be.

[courtarro Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:32AM]

Bamboo is a grass, not a tree. It grows very easily.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:55AM]

Hmmm VERY expensive here in the UK. The cheapest model comes in at £399. That's for a crappy Celeron processor. Boo!!

[cptcrackers Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:55AM]

It can play HD, but can it TUNE HD? That's the real question.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 2nd 2008 8:26AM]

Pricing in europe is €579 which translates into $900 which is a bit much to pay for a celeron based computer, would like to see a bit more aggressive pricing doubt they will sell many over here. Other than that looks like it could be good to use as a htpc

[chadleychad Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:07AM]

Nice but to be honest, a 20" iMac makes more sense both in size (its all in the monitor!), spec, cost, looks, included software .... sorry PC lovers!

[majortom1981 Posted Jul 29th 2008 7:48AM]

Its not a celeron cpu is a core 2 duo.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:35AM]

The price need to be a bit less. I also feel the box should have a wireless connection to monitor. The monitor a dockable tablet console which can be carried around.

[NXTwoThou Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:49AM]

My first thought was it would make a great machine for the living room. Then I went to dell.com and started pricing it out and noticed a lot of little things, like super-crappy X3100 onboard video, only 667 memory, only 5400 rpm drives, no built-in wireless, no bluetooth option.

This is supposed to come from laptop parts, right? Why isn't it using the GM45?

The bare minimum for my living room would be $50 to go to the slowest Core 2 Duo(2.0GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache), $30 to go to home premium(media center), $50 for 2GB memory(ever tried vista with only 1GB?!?). That brings the total up to $629.

Wow, an HP a6560t, same price when I add in the 128MB GeForce 9300 (WITH tv tuner) and wireless card. Plus it has a faster processor(2.6Ghz/8000Mhz FSB/2MB cache), 800Mhz memory, 320GB 7200 rpm drive, memory card reader, 7.1ch audio.

It would have been great at the price a couple of years ago, but now it feels highly overpriced and underpowered.

[bragg2012 Posted Jul 29th 2008 9:08AM]

Most places are stating that this has an integrated TV tuner, im pretty sure it doesn't.

[phobic99 Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:57AM]

My old Shuttle HTPC literally just died yesterday and I've been scrambling to find a low priced replacement. I almost went with an Xbox +XBMC but it can't do HD MKV files.

Mac mini? Slightly expensive plus lackluster video card.
Aopen miniPC? The barebone kit alone is $300+

I went to Dell to check on their refurbs but I saw this Studio PC and I'm in love. I think I might be buying one soon.

[chodaboy19 Posted Jul 29th 2008 8:57AM]

Does it use so-DIMMs or regular sized DIMMs?

[chodaboy19 Posted Jul 29th 2008 9:50AM]

BTW, what's the noise level on these?

how does it compare to the the Acer X1200?

[aMp 732 Posted Jul 29th 2008 10:19AM]

I cant help but to think of Plankton from Sponge Bob when I see this PC

See Link :http://incontiguousbrick.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/plankton1.jpg

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 11:12AM]

I remember the first Dell computer I bought many years back (laptop). Once I got it, I wish I never did.... build was crappy, felt like it would fall apart in my hands... so many things went wrong with it in only a few weeks of usage. I told myself I would never deal with Dell, again. But, I have to admit.... they have really come a long way from those days. Not only are their items much better looking, they are built much better, too and run quite well.

A+ for Dell in my book

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 11:56AM]

i'm waiting for a UMPC that can play HD MKV files. HDMI/DVI is a must. GPU resolution x1080px.
Choose Acer X1200 or Dell Hybrid Studio? Any comparision avaible?

There was also an Asus Nova Lite PC http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/20/asus-keeps-things-tiny-with-nova-lite-mini-2l-pc/
but the CPU/GPU is IMHO not good enough.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 3:04PM]

None of those options are UMPCs...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2008 4:11PM]

Yeah, I meant HTPC, SFF, mini-PC whatever.. :)

[fourblades Posted Jul 29th 2008 12:29PM]

I've been thinking of getting my mom a desktop or a netbook, at least this one I really really like and I'm sure she'll like it too. Wonder when is this coming out and what's bundled with it...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 30th 2008 10:00AM]

It only comes with Vista - Can't do it no matter how cute it is.

[xplode Posted Jul 30th 2008 3:28PM]

my thought exactly - i chatted with a sales guy and made him understand i would have bought one in a heartbeat if i could get it either with ubuntu or sans OS altogether. he asked if i'd tried vista, i said no. he asked why i didn't like it, i said because it isn't open source. he said 'got it'...

oh well. logicsupply will sell me a small box sans OS.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 20th 2008 10:44AM]

Dell completely miss the mark here! My XPS 1530 comes with a remote control (of course you need one of those for a laptop) and this doesn't! And no tv tuner - though the will 'add' one for you (well, send you a USB one, to be precise!)

A real shame. Would be perfect as a media solution.