Small Form Factor Gets Ultra Small

I have written many  articles referring to some kind of small footprint or small form factor (SFF) PC. Traditionally many of these SFF solutions have used Intel Atom or similar low voltage offerings from NVIDIA. The recently released Intel Next Unit of Computing (NUC) has landed squarely in this space. Intel has released this in 2 variants, a very basic flavor DC3217IYE and a more feature rich version DC3217BY with enhanced ports and accessibility.  In some markets this might be seen as an appliance to be used for digital signage applications and the DC3217IYE version is ideal for this. I don’t see this as merely an appliance.

All in One PCs More Affordable

One of the really great things about the technology industry is the rate at which Moore’s law affects the overall value of new devices and in turn makes their adoption and market penetration pervasive. Some of us are old enough to remember a time when owning a computer was for enthusiasts and hobby programmers. Today, of course, many homes own several computers. Perhaps one for the parents and one for the kids, but what about a more dedicated computer strictly for content consumption or homework help.

Stuck on What to Sell in your Custom Built PC Solution?

In the course of  normal day to day PC sales it can be easy to get lost selling the "standard" rectangular mini tower PCs and 15.4” black clamshell notebooks. These are likely to make up the bulk of your standard business PC offerings, but what if you need to have a larger or smaller chassis to fit a particular installation? What choices can you offer to your customers?

Need a Small and Powerful Custom Built PC? 

Do you have customers looking for a powerful computer with a touch screen interface? In my recent article “Small is Big for Custom Built PC Workstations” I made a case for small footprint PCs in retail or counter sales. Small footprint PCs are equally relevant for home users looking to keep their desk area clutter reduced or as a kitchen counter PC.

Do you have customers looking for small foot print desktop PC? Maybe a solution for a retail counter or sales floor? What if your customer needs to have a really small system but without jepordizing full PC performance; which is not provided in an Atom based small form factor computer. Specialty form factor PC’s fill this niche requirement.

With the increasing popularity of the Apple iPad and other tablet contenders, pundits have claimed the desktop PC is dead. To some extent there is truth to this, but in a different way than most of these would be prophets expect. While there has been some erosion of the traditional desktop PCs towards the tablet space, more have actually evolved into a couple of different form factors.