Asus has announced a device it's calling a “two-liter” PC, referring to the system's small volume. Measuring 9 x 7.25 x 2 inches, the Nova offers integral speakers, plus 5:1 surround sound via a digital optical output.

The orange and white case incorporates a touch sensor and a pen holder that doubles as a carrying handle. According to Asus, the Nova weighs 4 pounds, making it easier to tote from room to room than many laptops.

Though targeted at home media applications, and available with the optional remote control shown at right, the Nova shares much with the typical embedded PC. For example, Asus says the system's “unique thermal solution” incorporates an L-shape heat dissipation module, S-shape heat pipes, and three miniature fans that come on only when needed.

Asus says the Nova is available in two different models, the P22 and the P20. These differ just slightly in that the P20 has an Intel Core Duo E2160 CPU, whereas the P22 steps up to a Core 2 Duo E6320. Also, the P20 has a 120GB hard drive, whereas a 160GB drive is offered by the P22.

The Nova systems use Intel's 946GZ chipset. This incorporates Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 3000, said to provide superior game compatibility with software based transform & lighting (T&L), and improved realism with support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0c, OpenGL 1.4, and floating point operations.

Both PCs have 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, plus networking features that are more unusual in desktop PCs, such as Bluetooth 2.0 and wireless LAN capabilities. The P20 has 802.11b/g, while the P22 adds 802.11n, for which Asus claims a 300Mbps transfer rate.

Features and specifications listed by Asus for the Nova systems include:

• Processor:
  • Nova P20 — Intel Core Duo E2160 clocked at 1.8GHz, with 800MHz FSB
    
  • Nova P22 — Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 clocked at 1.83GHz, with 1066MHz FSB
• Memory — 1GB of 677MHz DDR2 RAM
• Storage — 120GB hard drive (P20), 160GB hard drive (P22), slot-in CD/DVD combo drive
  
• Networking:
  • LAN — 10/100/1000 Ethernet port
    
  • WLAN — 802.11b/g (P20), 802.11b/g/n (P22)
    
  • PAN — Bluetooth 2.0

• Other I/O:
  • 4 x USB 2.0
    
  • DVI-I output, supports VGA via adapter
    
  • 5.1 digital optical input/ouput
    
  • IR receiver for remote
• Dimensions — 9 x 7.25 x 2 inches (231 x 184 x 51 mm)
• Weight — 4 pounds (1.8 kg)

Pricing and availability information for the Nova P20 and P22 was not released by Asus, but the devices are rumored to be selling for approximately $1,000 in Taiwan.

The Nova ships with Windows Vista, but given its standard PC architecture, it should also run an appropriately configured Linux or Windows XP Embedded installation.

 
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