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averatec

HP introduces first nontouch all-in-one

Prior to this evening's announcement of the Pavilion All-In-One MS214, HP has never carried a traditional all-in-one in its desktop lineup. Its TouchSmart line brought touch computing to the all-in-one back in 2007, but the MS214 is the company's first attempt at a no-frills all-in-one.

We like the looks of the MS214, although its specs are fairly humble. Its 18.5-inch wide-screen display, 1.5GHz Athlon X2 3250e CPU, and 2GB of RAM keep it firmly on the budget-end of the all-in-one scale, as does its $599 starting price. Other features include a DVD burner, a built-in Web … Read more

Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 outclassed by year-old Averatec all-in-one

Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 came to light at CES this year, boasting a large screen, a motion-sensitive remote control and a host of digital entertainment features. The $749 configuration we reviewed this week is not that system.

Instead, the $749 A600 we ran through the CNET Lab has few of those advanced options. It features a relatively spare configuration, and trades on the attraction of a large screen for an uncommonly low price. The problem comes by way of Averatec, whose year-old 21.5-inch all-in-one received a significant price drop recently, going from $1,300 at launch to $749 now. … Read more

Adieu to the old-fashioned desktop computer?

Some giants of the PC industry are just beginning to sell tiny and cheap Netbooks and all-in-one desktops, which have the monitor and processor in the same box.

But little-known Averatec, based in Orange County, Calif., but part of Korean parent company Tri Gem, has been at it for several years. So you'll have to pardon Averatec CEO Tae-Hyun "Tiger" Cho if he believes he has a few insights to share regarding this small but growing market.

Averatec's first all-in-one desktop was introduced in 2004. But the company's main business before jumping into Netbooks last year was making 12-inch ultraportable notebooks--when most were churning out 14- and 15-inch portables--and it was making them cheaply when the competition was charging hundreds more.

Now Averatec is charging ahead with the majority of its production in just two of what happen to be the fastest-growing areas of PCs: all-in-one desktops and tiny, low-power Netbooks.

Netbooks are forecast to comprise one-fifth of the 133 million notebooks to be shipped in 2009, and the more than 3.5 million all-in-one desktops shipped in 2008 is expected to double by 2010, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. While all-in-ones are still a small part of the desktop market, it's one of the only desktop form factors that's actually growing.

The next Averatec Netbook model, due to arrive in August or September (pictured below) has been developed "from scratch" in-house at Averatec, Cho said. Besides increased attention paid to design, there's something on the inside of the forthcoming Netbook that will be markedly different from most of the field.

"The OS is going to be a surprise," Cho said. While he would not confirm or deny that the OS will be Android, the company will say that it will be "a merger of cell phone and PC technology."

Averatec won't be the first if it is indeed Android. Chinese PC maker Skytone announced over the weekend that it would offer a $250 Android-based Netbook, and there have been rumors of MSI doing the same. HP, Asus, and others have also said they are "experimenting" with Android on their Netbook models.

Averatec is positioning itself to take advantage of thrifty consumers and people who would welcome less intimidating approaches to technology. Cho believes all-in-ones and Netbooks are the answer. … Read more

MSI's Atom-powered WindTop hits e-tail tomorrow

According to our inbox, MSI's WindTop AE1900 touch-screen all-in-one PC is scheduled to hit online retailers Tuesday. It will join the already available Asus Eee Top and Averatec All-in-One in the niche-but-growing Nettop category. On paper, anyway, the Wind Top may stand out due to its many features.

The $525 WindTop essentially marries the key features of the Eee Top and the Averatec system with no price premium. Like the Asus system, MSI's WindTop will feature touch-screen capability, only with a larger, 18.5-inch screen that MSI says conforms to the familiar 16:9 screen ratio common to … Read more