In short the Inspiron Zino HD is a small PC that packs quite a punch in an 8” by 8” square. And the best part is that it’ll make an awesome device to have in your living room. So what does the Zino HD come with?

Well for starters, it comes with tons of customization options on the Hardware configuration just as you’d expect otherwise from Dell. The base model starts at 299$ and here is what the PC comes with (or can be configured with)

• It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit or Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.
• You can customize the PC with 7 solid colors.
• You can customize the PC with 3 designs.
• The Inspiron Zino HD uses AMD’s Athlon processor (single or dual core).
• The base configuration is 3GB of RAM, but can be configured with 4, 6, and 8GB of RAM with 8GB being the max.
• Storage shouldn’t be a problem with your choice of 500GB, 640GB, 750GB, or 1TB 7200rpm SATA hard drives.
• You can choose either a DVD +/- RW drive or Blu-ray drive.
• For graphics, you can choose either an integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 or discrete ATI Radeon HD 4330 with 512MB of dedicated memory.
• It has HDMI and VGA ports.
• A 4-in-1 media card reader and integrated gigabit Ethernet are both standard.
• It has integrated 2.1 High Definition audio with the choice of going with a Sound Blaster X-Fi High Definition audio from Creative.
• For your wireless needs, you can choose either a Dell 1397 802.11 b/g wireless card or Dell 1520 802.11 b/g/n wireless card.

What Makes the Inspiron Zino HD the best choice for a Home Media Center?

• Extremely good storage options.
• Connectivity through HDMI will allow you to connect to HDTV.
• Good expandable options, so you can easily connect a TV Tuner card, to record TV.

And with the upcoming Boxee for Windows which will be on the same level as Boxee for Mac/Linux in the coming few months. However the upcoming Boxee box is also something I’m looking forward to.

But the Inspiron Zino HD is just too irresistible for my tastes and would love to own one of these cute PC’s to have in my living room. Wish Dell just had a nice little remote to give like the Apple Remote!

For more of Dell Inspiron Zino HD, have a look at this picture stream on Flickr.

For long I’ve always felt that Mac’s were super sexy and did extremely well in the looks department of a computer. There’s this self attracting charm of the Mac’s that pulls in the crowds wherever you take it. Looks like Dell is aiming to do something similar with its Studio Hybrid Desktops.

Dell claims that the Studio Hybrid desktops are the most power efficient desktops in the market today and it Uses about 70% less power than a typical desktop, and it meets Energy Star 4.0 standards with an 87% efficient power supply. Well done Dell!

The major selling point about the new Studio Hybrid’s is that they are extremely environmental friendly. Here’s what Dell has to say, “Studio Hybrid packaging is made from 95% recyclable materials. And the Studio Hybrid comes with a system-recycling kit, so you can help preserve and protect the environment”.

Going by its looks you might feel that it is severely underpowered just like the Mac Mini. But it isn’t the case. The base model that retails for 499$ (without monitor) and for 699$ (with monitor) comes in the following configuration :

• Intel Pentium Dual Core (1.86 GHz)
• 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner
• 1GB RAM (DDR2 , 667MHz)
• 160GB Hard disk (5400RPM)
• Integrated Graphics (GMA X3100)

The Studio Hybrid’s suffer from weak 3D performance due to the system’s integrated graphics, but if you don’t need to play 3D games, the Studio Hybrid is a good alternative to the boxy mainstream PC’s that have dominated the market since the dawn of personal computing. 

Personalization is an added benefit,  several acrylic shell colors are available including Topaz and Ruby, the system can also be wrapped in a bamboo finish and changed on the fly through a swappable sleeve. The design can either sit horizontally on a desk or upright by using a special stand.

The higher end Hybrid’s are just as good as the modern day towers with Core 2 Duo Processors and upto a maximum of 4GB of RAM.

Looking at all this, I feel that Dell has a winner at its hands. It beats the Mac Mini hands down with option of a Blu-ray drive for HD video, HDMI video out, an 8-in-1 card reader and the choice of a TV tuner.

With the impending refresh of the Mac line, we have to wait and watch for what Apple comes up with. I’d want the Mac Mini compete heads on with the Studio Hybrid. At the moment though it is the Hybrid’s winning the battle.

If only Hybrid’s ran Mac OSX, it would be the best small factor PC/Mac out there suitable for a small home theatre in your living room.

Nice industrial design from Dell. The bamboo model looks particularly nice. What are your thoughts on the Studio Hybrids?

When Google first unveiled Android, the mobile OS way back in November, something inside me told, “Hey, Wait this is not what Google would want, they will want to have a complete phone”. Interestingly the rumor mills are abuzz saying that Google might partner with Dell to launch a new handset that would come loaded with Android. Everyone seems to be touting the gPhone as the next iPhone and its chief competitor.

While Android is still under heavy development, and a final version is expected sometime this year. It makes complete sense for Google to make a phone to showcase all what Android can do, and going in with a partnership with Dell makes perfect sense. Dell has been in the PDA business before and it certainly has Know How on how mobile phones are built. Combine Dell’s Hardware expertise and Google’s Engineers and you have a winner at your hands.

Whether the GPhone if and when it is available can be iPhone competitor or not is a big question because so far we’ve never seen apps from Google with interfaces as friendly as Apple’s. So far Google has not shown the same kind of attention to its interfaces, that make Apple’s consumer electronics products a joy to use..

If the GPhone comes out with 3G and never before seen internet connectivity on its handset then it can be a winner, but beating Mobile Safari will be hard. And while there are reports that the Google phone would launch at next month’s 3GSM Telecom Conference in Barcelona, there has been no denial from either company that such a product is in the works.

So until then lets keep our fingers crossed. But incase Google does come out with its own handset, it surely is going to be a big stab in the back of Apple.