Dell has taken its sweet time in bringing the 7.75- x 7.75- x 3.5-inch
Inspiron Zino HD to market, but just 24 hours after it made its market debut
across the pond, this little zinger is finally available to the Yanks in attendance. Starting at just $229, the mini PC is far more exhilarating than most ho hum nettops. Oh sure, the base configuration is fairly unexciting, but thankfully Dell enables you to add up to 8GB of memory, a 1.8GHz dual-core AMD
Athlon Neo X2 6850e CPU, up to 1TB of HDD space, an optional Blu-ray drive, a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4330 discrete GPU and WiFi to the mix. 'Course, speccing it out will obviously raise the price substantially, but it's always nice to see more power than anticipated within such a minuscule box. Of note, Dell also mentions that an optional TV tuner, wireless keyboard and mouse are available, but at least for now, the TV tuner is nowhere to be found in the
configuration pages. Other inclusions are a 4-in-1 card reader, four USB 2.0 sockets and a pair of eSATA ports. Who says HTPCs have
to breathe fire?
Update: We've just heard that the TV tuner won't be available at launch (sounds a lot like what happened with the
Mini 10), so there goes those dreams of immediately gratifying your urge for a new HTPC of the smallest scale.
posted Nov 12th 2009 9:59AM
@Jim
"Mac Mini? Not at all. This supports double the memory and an HDMI port. The Mac Mini doesn't even have the option for BluRay or a native TV Tuner."
That's because its' a computer and a not a cable box. The CPU/GUP on this thing does not max the Mac mini. Nice colors tho. haha
Queue Mac Mini rip off comments in 3... 2... 1...
Iceman above beat you to it.
I see that... damn. By a matter of seconds it seems.
Asap as you get me a out of the box Mac-mini with BR let me know. Further the disign a square box might resemble a lot like the mini but then... damn isnt it so generic to design something box-like. It´s almost like the everlasting argument that a mobile looks like an iPhone.. its square and it has a screen. What´s more important what does it do and what can you get. And regarding this certainly for this price I think it´s a neat solution. Certainly if the options are avaible that are rumoured its obviously a Zino > Mini.
@JZ,
I'm sure you just wanted to get your little rant/whine into a higher area in the comments - but you're preaching to the wrong person. I don't care and haven't argued one way or the other. Personally, I have no use for either one. I just find it hilarious that so many people argue about something so ridiculous.
Oh, wait, it's the internet - that's why.
Yet here you are... arguing....
Ya, but not about Zino vs Mini... about him using my comment to piggy back his crap comment to the top.
It's so interesting. If it wouldn't be an obvious Mac Mini rip-off, you wouldn't have said that you expected comments about it. I think you comment is translated to English as "This is Mac Mini rip-off."
@Arial
Have you witnessed any of the other Zino threads here on Engadget? Have you read through them? They have ALL been "this looks like a mac mini" or "dell made a mac mini!" etc.
Honestly, once they offer an integrated TV tuner, I'm getting one and setting it up in my living room. I have always liked the idea of a Nettop/HTCP, and this will be the one for me, I think.
Too bad the media industry, colluding with Microsoft (and others) is stifling this technology so badly. Talk about organizations that need to burn to the ground...
I've been using the ASRock ION 330, which works really well with an external Hauppauge tuner and has no problem playing back even HD MKVs (and HD YouTube/Hulu will come with the GPU Flash update)...
http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=1652
But I'd consider retiring (or moving) the ASRock for the Zino HD once they add the TV tuner and IR support out of the box. Keeping the base memory at 3GB, bumping up the processor to the Dual Core 3250e 1.5 GHz, adding the Radeon 4330 512MB graphics card and a BD/DVD combo drive prices this thing out at $604, which is a REALLY good deal, especially since the ASRock doesn't come with an OS out of the box.
The 3250e is a pretty stable overclocker too, and even at stock performs better than the Dual Core Atom 330. Seriously not a bad deal at all for any number of SFF uses.
Just use and HDhomerun. It is an awesome network based dual tuner, no need to have a tuner in the box, or even in the same room. Likewise if you want a CableCARD tuner, you can get USB versions.
damnit, put an intel chip in there so I can install Snow Leopard..
Yes because we all know that Snow Leopard's HTPC / Media Center features are like... nonexistent.
Front Row?
no you douche.. I am thinking CHEAP
@ Buddy Boy: You think Front Row compares to Windows 7 config'ed to switch between W7MC and Boxee?
I guess you've never really used a real media center. :)
@Alan Strangis
I didn't say it compared, but Andrea said "Media Center features are like... nonexistent" which is a blatant troll.
Plex.
Um...
2.1 sound card on an HTPC is a bit crap if you ask me. Gimme 5.1 or don't bother pretending this is a media centre solution.
let's say one wanted to use this as a blu ray player; if you used hdmi out, wouldn't it just become a moot problem?
yeah, and no spdif. not going to be an htpc any time soon.
I agree it's lame... but if you really want good sound quality from a PC, you need an external card anyway. Onboard and discreet cards always suffer from noise that external cards don't.
5.1 can be "software enabled" for $25. It's shitty that they're charging you extra to enable a chip that's already on the board, but I'm sure it can be easily worked around.
This is what happens when Ted Turner is involved. He colorized the Mac Mini!
You know ROFL, that was the complete opposite
Is the included gfx chip (not the upgraded one) good enough for smooth 1080p playback via the HDMI output or do we need to get the upgraded one? What about the CPU? Is the stock one good enough or do you need to choose on of the other options? Just want to know what the minimum requirement is for good BluRay/mkv 1080p playback without spending too much. If i don't need to upgrade the CPU or gfx chip then I would rather put the money into the harddrive capacity and of course the BluRay drive.
I'm wondering the same thing, can anyone clear this up?
from the site notebookcheck:
The HD 3200 was the first onboard graphics card that allows the fluent playback of Blu-ray videos.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Radeon-HD-3200.9591.0.html
At $229 it does include an optical drive:
-8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Mac mini performance comparison, please?
On the base config, the Zino HD won't compare to the the Mini, but on a configuration that costs $604, or a whopping $5 (five dollars) more than the base $599 Mini you get this...
Athlon Dual core CPU performance that gets you about 75% of the speed (the Athlon outperforms the dual core Atom 330, but won't compare to a full blown Intel Core 2 Duos)
Radeon 4330 which outperforms the Mini's Nvidia 9400M by between about 30 and 80% depending on task
Double the hard drive space of the Mini
3GB memory on the Zino instead of 2GB on the Mini (the Mini uses 1066MHz though, instead of the 800MHz Zino)
Depending on what you want to use it for, it's a trade off. You'll get better raw CPU performance out of the Mini, but in every other respect, a Zino HD beats it. If you were planning on using Windows, then the Zino HD is a good deal overall, especially if you're a Blu Ray fan, or want to build a media PC and were previously thinking of something like the ASRock or the latest Revo.
Though the Zino really is a 'nettop' computer at its core, a few upgrades really gives it some oomph that Acer and ASRock haven't matched, at the same price as the ION 330 with Blu Ray.
Also, it looks nicer and you can ACTUALLY UPGRADE IT.
The look of the Mac Mini is far too dated. It hasn't changed at all since it started as the Mac Mini G4.
What's wrong with a "box"? The Mini external shape doesn't need updating. That's why Dell also made a "box". Boxes are good. You can stack them. They have flat sides to put connectors on. Sometimes it's best not to mess with what works. I hated those stupid Mac's that had rounded corners for no useful purpose. The first LCD iMac with the round base was also incredibly stupid, and the coup de grace was that see-though Macbook with rounded corners that made the whole thing about 50% bigger than it needed to be. Sometime Apple's style police need a leash.
That starting price is a lot lower than what I'm seeing on the webpage... I can't figure out how to configure it w/o a monitor though
Scratch that:
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/inspiron-zino-hd/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-zino-hd&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~inspiron-zino-hd-anav1~~
They show it as low as $359 to start - but when I started the configurator thing, it dropped to $229 and the "no monitor" was by default.
does anyone know if the hdmi out also includes audio yet or is 2.1 all that we get?
Yeah it includes audio... The HDMI signal would does not go through the sound card at all. The sound card is merely for the standard audio jack.
I'm not sure this thing will do any more than 2.1... and that isn't even fair to say. The audio output jack looks like the standard headphone jack. I owned a Studio Hybrid and it was a bit more sleek. It had a slot loading optical drive and it also had an optical audio out.
This Inspiron Zino is too low end.
@ Franz: The HDMI out of the optional Radeon 4330 supports 7.1 AC3. I can live with that.
Try this:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=ddcwua1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=inspiron-zino-hd
don't go through the links provided here. i only found it by going directly to dell's website and digging through there.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=ddcwua1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=inspiron-zino-hd
was supposed to be @txphisher. looks like people beat me to it anyway. stupid unreliable comment system.
isn't your icon from that article engadget did about some creepy japanese bathroom stall cleaner? /shudder
INCORRECT! If you go look the starting price starts @ $359 not $229.
INCORRECT! If you read the other post before yours, you will figure out ;)
@vipermatrixxm, follow my link above.
starts at $229, including optical drive.
Mac Mini? Not at all. This supports double the memory and an HDMI port. The Mac Mini doesn't even have the option for BluRay or a native TV Tuner.
This is calling a Nissan Altima a Infinity G35. Sure they look similar. But one is a whole a lot more than other.
AND you can get it in PINK!!!!!!!
Completely true. Except for the processor, video card, and operating system which makes this one complete garbage.
Gimme an Intel CPU and I'll bite
I wonder why they decided to mar those nice designer top covers with the power button.. they should have put it on the front, or anywhere around the base for that matter D=
I'm going to guess the reason the power button is on the top is this... if the button was on the front when you pushed it the unit would move because it is so small and light. With the button on top you don't have that problem.
This looks like a promising solution for an HTPC... Waiting for benchmarks!
Can't seem to configure it without a monitor. Lame.
Why oh why do they insist on only offering an x64 Operating System...
Why oh why would you want to use a 32 bit OS when the CPUs are 64 bit?
There are many CPUs that support 64-bit, doesn't mean you can't use a 32-bit O/S without issue. Why not give the consumer the choice, there is very little reason to go x64 for an HTPC...
"there is very little reason to go x64 for an HTPC..."
There is very little reason to go x86 Windows 7 on ANY PC right now. It has crazy support. Stop being a pussy.
@ Parias: Couldn't agree more. When I upgraded my systems to Windows 7, I went 64bit on all of them. Went off without a hitch.
+1 for Parias
When I upgraded to W7 I went back to x32 (I guess universal support for x32 vs still spotty support for x64 isn't enough), I guess I am a pussy though, oh well...somehow I will survive. Cheers
you're free to reinstall whatever OS you want.
does it run MythTV
I'm like days away from pulling the trigger on a Moxi now that they dropped the price to $499.....I'm going to have to rethink this now.
@Jim
Actually Nissan and Infinity are the same company and the cars share quite a bit more than the Inspiron Zino HD and Mac Mini. But other than that I agree with you.
They gonna sell it in Canada or just US?
I WANT ONE!!!!!
The Zino HD would make a nice HTPC in a lot of ways, but keep in mind that the Athlon Neo doesn't meet the requirements for Hulu Desktop, whereas the Mac mini's Core 2 Duo does. The Mac mini also has optical digital audio out and it's very easy to get a mini display port to HDMI cable. So unless you want Blu-Ray, the Mac mini is probably a better choice. As for Blu-Ray--well, that's what a PS3 slim is for!
@Morgensten - thanks for pointing that out. also, you can upgrade the mini, DIY tho, with 8GB DDR3 ram. the Dell is running DDR2.
@ Morgenstern: Uhm, spec out a Zino at the same price as the low end Mini (including BD), and you'd see why you're getting downranked. :)
@Alan Strangis - Actually, I'm getting downranked because of the usual Windows zealots. Yes, the Zino is great if you want a Blu-Ray HTPC. But it doesn't matter how you configure it--it won't play Hulu Desktop HD videos, whereas the Mac mini will. So it simply depends on what you need. Want Blu-Ray? Get a Zino. Want Hulu HD? Get a Mac mini. That was all I was saying.
According to the reviews, it plays Hulu HD fine. Here's a review of a MSI netbook using the same CPU and GPU: http://blogs.amd.com/patmoorhead/2009/09/09/congo-vision-test-driving-amds-2nd-generation-ultrathin-notebook-platform/
@Morgenstern
My eee pc 1000HE doesn't meet the requirements for hulu desktop either yet it plays the higher quality videos just fine. And this is way more powerful than my eee pc, so I would imagine it would be fine.
@Chad
ya i think Jimbo knows it (brands), that was his point.
The site is all messed up. I can get to the order page but when I try to customize it links me to a page that says:
"Please wait while we retrieve your system information"
The page keeps reloading itself over and over again.
Anyone got a link that WORKS??
Ok its been fixed...
Anyone else realize they nuked the $229 option? I had a nice system priced out at around $420, but now with the $229 option down it's about $490 for the same system. Still tempting, but not certain anymore.
Also, for those complaining about a TV tuner, pick up an HD Homerun and be done with it.
As of 3:30PM EST, the $229 option is available. They're probably still futzing with the site configuration.
The price is OK until I hit the OS selection page. I will only pay for the hardware as I use Ubuntu Linux. Oh well.... Dell has to try harder. Give me an option to drop Windows and use the $50 to beef up the hardware offering instead.
Looks great. I can see the fan exhaust on the back but can anyone confirm if this is quiet or not? And how quiet?
As per usual Dell have no idea how exchange rates are supposed to work. £1 = $1.79, therefore $229 != £249.
The usual £1 = $1 exchange rate is insulting enough, but are dell trying to win some special brit hate award?
Oops, that should read $1 = £1.66, not £1.79, but you get the idea
I've just spoken with Dell US, if it has a 3 year warranty, its an international warranty.
Therefore, buy a US unit at the proper price and ship it back to your own country.
Over $300 for a base unit in the U.K.
ripoff...ripoff...ripoff
Is it just me or is it stupid that the engadget link go to a config with a monitor included with no option to downgrade? Bah. Just a terrible job. Makes it seem way more expensive than it is. Go here:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspiron-zino-hd?c=us&l=en&s=dhs
To begin at the beginning and get an overview of what you can do. Don't know a lot about these chips but I'm reasonably pleased. I had heard this thing was gonna start at $600. A tuner would be great but as it is now the very cheapest config is only $100 more than the roku hd box and that's pretty obviously worth it given all the other stuff you can add in into your media mix vs roku.
So Dell, why exactly is this 100% more expensive in the UK than the US? ($229 vs $495) for basically the same spec, the only difference being a 250GB HDD vs. 320GB.
Last time I checked our VAT was 15% and even on the normal scale of us getting a little ripped off another 95% on top of that seems a little excessive.
110%, not 100%.
Also going to complain at the lack of an edit button on here, again.
VAT isn't the only tax you pay.
No, you're right it isn't. but it certainly doesn't account for a price hike of 110% over the US. CUstoms duty is usually between 5 and 9%, it can be considerably more or less but as usual specific information is very hard to come by.
So, assuming $20 shipping per unit, $34.35 VAT, $20.61 customs and the $10 extra the 320GB HDD costs we're still being overcharged by around $180 for the base unit.
"Actually Nissan and Infinity are the same company and the cars share quite a bit more than the Inspiron Zino HD and Mac Mini. But other than that I agree with you."
Hard to really say that. G35 is a RWD platform and the Altima is a FWD platform. The G35 has more in common with the Nissan Z series. So, there are a lot of differences compared to two PCs that both draw from the same few manufacturers for most components.
I purchased a maxed out Dell Inspirion 1525 last year at the cost of almost $1,700.00. It's the worst computer that I've ever owned. The keys are flimsy, the disc drive is flimsy and just randomly opens, the cursor randomly jumps (although a Windows update recently fixed that issue), the hard drive seems to always randomly power on and sounds like a jet engine. This computer is almost "unusable." I will never buy another Dell product.
@jim
Only the Mac Mini has a better processor, better graphics, and third party bluray option.
Can thing thing handle smooth 1080p playback on any platform?
If not, then it's a total non-starter. The machines that this is supposed to "blow away" already handle HTPC duties quite well. A fat drive and an integrated component capture device (ATSC doesn't really cut it) would be nice but is probably a moot point for anyone with a good home network.
Video storage (recordings or rips) really isn't an area where a "compact" device excels. Multiple 3.5" drives are commonplace.
HTPCs are an area where the smallest possible footprint doesn't necessarily make that much sense. This is especially true if you have all client and server functions in the same box. A Tivo sized HTPC with room for a PCI card and a 2.5 hotswap cage would be more practical.
...as far as a Mac Mini goes. The most interesting "tuner" out there is USB anyways. So any serious setup is not going to disadvantage a mac mini.
Will these things accept a cable card?
Who exactly are you quoting when you say people are claiming this "blows away" anything? Sound like you've setup a strawman there. Also, what machines do you refer to in comparison that handle their duties quite well? I'd love to see the links keeping in mind the size and cost of the zino because I've been looking for something the past couple weeks and have been pretty disappointed with the options. Thanks for any tips.
As for the mac mini comparison - os x doesn't even support blu ray so yeah you can get a "serious setup" that immediately puts the mini at a disadvantage.
I just bought an Asrock330 for around $330 last month. This sounds like a better deal at $230, save $100. should have waited... I guess intel always cost more than amd.
OK, here is a price-point comparison. Its a common marketing method allowing us to compare equal prices, and not speculate about "possibilities."
The base Mac-Mini comes in at $600. I configured a Dell ZinoHD by adding upgrades that bring it to about a $600 price point.
My comparison is hardware, not software. Lets not get into an OSX vs Win7 rant.
Lets compare. I'm a mac guy, but I'm truly wondering if this might be a better choice. Can someone maybe give an "advantage" for each of these categories?
CPU:
Zino - AMD Dual Core Athlon Neo X2 6850e 1.8Ghz
Mini - Intel Core2 Duo 2.26 Ghz
(adv. Mini)
Memory
Zino - 4GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 MHz
Mini - 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066 MHz
(adv Zino)
HDD
Zino - 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
Mini - 160GB 7200 RPM SATA
(adv. Zino)
Graphics
Zino - ATI RAdeon HD 4330 512 MB
Mini - NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
(adv. Mini ?unsure)
Sound
Zino - Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software enabled
Mini - Integrated optical audio
(adv. ?)
Wireless
Zino - 802.11 b/g/n
Mini - 802.11 b/g/n
(adv. none)
Optical
Zino - 8x DVD/RW
Mini - 8x DVD/RW
(adv. none)
It looks like you get a much better CPU and graphics card with the Mini.
Zino gives you more HDD (as if it matters, since I generally prefer as little integrated HDD as possible for an HTPC - I prefer NAS and external storage).
Zino gives you more RAM, but its slower. I say more wins, though.
Tough choice, and then it seems like the software bundles begin to be the differentiators.
You do have more options with the Zino (esp. Blu-Ray)...but this is an equal price point comparison, again.
Also, its possible that the base $249 Zino might still serve as a proper HTPC.
Thoughts?