Small Is The New Big In Desktops

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Rethink the desktop.

After years of data showing that the world was switching to laptops, tablets and Blackberries to take their work with them, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are providing new reasons to just stay in the office.

The two rivals exchanged announcements earlier this month on separate, ultra-small form factor desktops -- Lenovo with the ThinkCentre A61e and Hewlett-Packard with the HP Compaq dc7800 Business PC -- that could very well kick start a segment that some have even written off for dead.

To be sure, there are differences between the Lenovo and HP desktops. And neither company has integrated wireless connectivity -- very available technology -- into the desktops, which means they have not eliminated the aggravating and unsightly nest of wires needed to get them networked. But they have appeared to have at least shrunk that nest a little, and the benefits they have added tend to overshadow some of the obvious shortcomings.

Lenovo ThinkCentre A61e: sturdy enough

A look at both systems, unboxed, booted and attached to the Internet via wired Ethernet connections shows the following:

* Both the Lenovo and HP ultra-smalls have absolutely silent cooling systems and operation;

* Neither desktop warms up even slightly while running graphics, multi-media and office productivity applications for an hour or more;

* The Lenovo A61e is shorter than the keyboard and its tower stands no taller than the length of a credit card;

* The HP Compaq dc7800 has a unique, space-saving design that allows for the PC unit to be attached to the LCD panel or, if preferred, to sit on the side next to the monitor;

* Both are more energy-efficient than earlier desktop versions.

HP Compaq dc7800: easy deployment

Both companies are making a significant play to win business in small and midsized accounts by working with solution providers, and both appear to have tailored their new form factors and offerings to the SMB space. In the case of Lenovo, the Raleigh, N.C.-based PC maker has made SMB a key focus of its growth strategy in North America. To execute, it is incorporating aspects of design made popular in China, where Lenovo is the market leader.

Next: Chinese market looms large for small PCs

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