Something old is new again, as Intel displays the small Pandora PC concept last seen in March.
Intel brought out the Pandora concept PC at Taiwan’s Computex trade show. The little PC resembles the Mac Mini that recently debuted from Apple Computer.
The Mac Mini starts at $499, a price point Intel will likely have to match to gain interest in the home entertainment market.
Intel’s design was created by Taiwan’s AOpen, an affiliate of the Acer Group. According to one report, the design could go on sale in September.
Previously, Intel has tried to enter the home entertainment device market. But a design that appeared in 2004 at the Consumer Electronics Show didn’t go anywhere with consumers.
The Pandora device has a slot-loading CD drive and three USB connection ports. A keyboard and display can be connected to the device as well. Internal specifications are not available yet, though the device reportedly has internal wireless support.
If Intel and its partner try to bring this device to market, they may ship it with Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center PC operating system. Should that be the case, Pandora may be in competition with Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which has been touted for its multimedia capabilities.
A couple of outlets have reported the Xbox 360 will debut in November of this year. Bill Gates has mentioned the Xbox 360 will support high-definition video. Pandora would have to do the same, otherwise the Xbox 360 may be a cheaper option to perform a similar entertainment function in the home.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
