Packard Bell-NEC Launches Microdesktop

What do you get if you cross a desktop PC with a notebook PC? The PowerMate 2000, the desktop launched Monday by Packard Bell NEC Inc.'s NEC Computer Systems Division.

The space-saving form factor includes a built-in flat-panel display that swivels for easier presentation, said Stacey Wu, product line director of desktop and display systems for NEC, based here.

The new design could attract customers that sell services through face-to-face discussion and presentation with clients, such as banking and real estate, said Wu.

NEC also hopes to garner sales in areas that do not traditionally use PCs, such as library study cubes on college campuses or hotel suites, said Wu.

The system looks like a notebook PC with a flat-panel monitor sitting on top of it. It uses a desktop processor, motherboard and chipsets, but other features, such as the floppy drive, CD-ROM drive, hard drive and memory, are notebook components, which are smaller than their desktop counterparts.

"[The chassis is] even smaller than a notebook because you don't have to leave room for a battery," said Wu. Its footprint measures 10.5 inches wide x 7.7 inches deep and is 85 percent smaller than a standard PC, according to NEC.

NEC already sells a similar product in its consumer line called the Packard Bell NEC Z1.

The PowerMate 2000 will ship this month in one configuration that includes an Intel Corp. 433MHz Celeron processor, a 15-inch TFT display, 64 Mbytes of RAM, a 6.4-Gbyte hard drive, a 24X CD-ROM drive, 10/100 LAN and Windows 95. It carries an estimated price of $2,499.

"It seems 15 inches is the sweet spot for LCD monitors right now," said Wu. A 17-inch LCD display is too expensive, while a 14-inch display is too small for a desktop PC, she said.

Current mobile Pentium II processors cannot reach the low thermal requirements for such a small form factor, but Intel's upcoming mobile Pentium III processors, which will run at a lower wattage, will be supported by the product line in the future, said Wu.

Another feature NEC could add in the future is touch-screen capabilities, she said.

VARs said there are advantages and disadvantages to all-in-one PC designs.

"One disadvantage is that if one part breaks, it all has to be dealt with together," said Chris Ferry, senior vice president of Bell Industries Inc., an Indianapolis VAR.

On the other hand, all-in-one systems offer conveniences because they use fewer connection cables and are easier to transport, said Ferry.

Some markets, such as education, prefer all-in-one systems because they are more secure and compact, he said.