The Dell Inspiron Zino HD is a new affordable compact desktop PC introduced last week and suitable for a wide range of tasks – everything from basic computing to media center activities. Measuring a mere 7.5 inches square and 3.5 inches tall, the Zino HD looks great anywhere in the home or office. Outfit the system with an optional Blu-ray drive and a dual-core AMD Neo processor and the Zino HD could very well function as a low-end HTPC system.

The Zino HD has a starting price of $229 and is available in 10 colors making it an attractive option to folks considering nettop systems. Features of the Zino HD include:

• AMD processors or dual core Athlon Neo X2 6850e
• Up to 8GB dual channel DDR2 memory
• Up to 1TB internal hard drive space
• Combo DVD/CD-RW drive with optional Blu-ray disc combo
• Gigabit Ethernet with wireless option
• Optional wireless keyboard and mouse
• Built-in 2.1 HD audio and 4 in 1 media card reader
• Integrated ATI graphics adapter with standard HDMI and VGA video connections and optional 512MB discrete ATI graphics adapter
• Four USB 2.0 ports and two eSATA ports

One thought does come up with the Zino HD – is this system a better choice than say the Apple Mac mini? It’s not entirely clear in our opinion. On the low end of the spectrum, it’s hard to argue with the price of the $229 Zino HD. However, configure the Zino HD with more powerful AMD processor options, and it’s harder to say which is the better deal. If you’re concerned about processor performance than the $599 Mac mini clearly has the better processor with the 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. However, you’ll get more hard drive capacity and more system memory with the Zino HD in this price range – both important for media center considerations. You can even configure a Zino HD with a low-end AMD processor, 3GB RAM, DVD burner, 500GB HDD, integrated graphics and an 18.5 inch HD monitor for $549 – $50 dollars less than the Mac mini.

Not a bad deal – especially if you need a fully configured basic PC system.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell Inspiron Zino HD, HTPC

Looking for that extra edge in your next LAN gaming party? Check out the newly announced Logitech G13 advanced gameboard. Designed to complement Logitech keyboards and mice (particularly the G15 keyboard and the G9 laser mouse), the G13 advanced gameboard incorporates the ComfortWave design and features three game modes, 25 programmable keys, and a programmable analog stick. In total, the gameboard offers up to 87 ways for you to control your game, with custom game profiles available for each of your favorite game titles. You can even create macros on the fly without exiting your game.

The G13 advanced gameboard also comes with a 160 x 43 pixel GamePanel LCD display which shows live game states, system information, and messages from other players. The gameboard also comes with backlit keys for low-light conditions, on-board memory capable of storing up to 5 ready-to-play profiles, and pre-configured settings for many of today’s popular games.

The Logitech G13 advanced gameboard will be available this month for a price of $79.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Logitech, Logitech G13 advanced gameboard

Hardcore console gamers have the Ultimate Game Chair.. but what do hardcore PC gamers have? Ladies and gents.. might we introduce the Gaming Table from the folks at Digital Edge Inc. With this multi-tiered table in front of you, you’ll have practically everything you need to utterly frag your online foes.. (or friends). The Gaming Table was designed for CH Product controllers but we’re sure you can probably use other vendor controllers also. There’s room for plenty of input devices (from joystick controllers to flight sticks to driving wheels) and room for up to three displays.. a nice table indeed! The Digital Edge Gaming Table has an MSRP of $379.

[Check it out via DVICE.com]

Technorati Tags: Digital Edge Inc, Gaming Table

id Software made it official (albeit in a strange manner) – DOOM 4 is in production! The announcement came in a posting on id’s website which resembled more like a job recruitment posting than a product announcement one. According to Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software:

“DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth..It’s critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles.”

The posting then links to a fairly extensive list of job openings at id – presumably positions for DOOM 4 production. In any event, it’s awesome to hear that DOOM will indeed be back. No word of course on any potential release date. I’m sure it’ll come out “when it’s ready.”

[Check it out via ExtremeTech]

Technorati Tags: id Software, DOOM 4

If you take a peek at my Xbox Live Gamer Profile (krunkermedia), you’ll notice that I’ve been playing an awful lot of one particular Xbox Live Arcade game. What game is that you might ask? Well.. please don’t laugh ok? It’s ridiculous but don’t laugh at what I’m about to say.. (yes I know some of you will laugh anyhow)

Ok.. it’s the Pac-Man Championship Edition video game and yes.. you can proceed to laugh now. So Pac-Man C.E. is basically an enhanced version of the original Pac-Man game – optimized for HD displays – and it’s one crazy high speed game. The game comes with several new game modes and more importantly, it now has dynamically changing mazes. Complete one half of the board, eat the fruit that appears on the other side of the board, and then watch the half you just finished, dynamically change to a new design. The game consists of several timed modes – basically, can you survive a board for five or ten minutes. The hardest mode is the one where everything is practically in the dark and you can only see the walls immediately surrounding you as you’re glowing in the dark. Yes – that makes for an interesting adventure.

To make things even more interesting, the game speeds up over time and you’ll find yourself moving at breakneck speeds near the end of the game. There are only 12 achievements with this game and you only get 200 gamerscore points for completing all of the achievements. It won’t take you long to get all of the achievements.. but getting a high score on the leaderboards will be a different issue. On the five minute board, I have no idea how someone managed to get more than 300K !! (perhaps, I’m just too slow). In any event, this a great game for anyone who’s a long time Pac-Man fan. About the only thing missing is a board without a timer. It would be cool to just play the game for as long as possible with boards constantly changing. Other than that, it’s a beautiful game to behold on HD – even if it’s a 2D game. Yes.. I know.. I’m playing cheesy 2D games on a next generation console system. What do you want???

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Pac-Man Championship Edition, C.E.

Looking for yet another party game for the Wii console? You might want to check out the newly announce EA game called “Boogie”. Labeled as “The Ultimate Party Package for the Wii”, Boogie lets Wii owners dance, sing, and create music videos by taking advantage of the Wii controllers as well as the games packed-in karaoke microphone.

The game features new versions of popular tracks made famous by groups such as the Jackson 5, Kool and the Gang, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Players can sing or dance to their favorite tunes, catch their best dance movies, record their voices, and create complete music videos with the built in music video creator. Players can also customize one of five Boog characters for the music videos. The game has an MSRP of $59.99 and is available now in North America.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: EA, Boogie, Nintendo Wii, Party Game

I didn’t get a chance to write about this yesterday but a real shocker hit the Xbox community that day. EA announced that Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business was hired away to become President of the EA Sports label. Moore will certainly be hard to replace over at Microsoft and in particular – within the Xbox team.

So how much did EA pay to get Mr. Moore? According to Team Xbox, here are the “compensatory arrangements with Mr. Moore”.

• Annual base salary of $550,00 with discretionary target bonus percentage that will be 75 percent of his annual base salary
• One time bonus of $1,500,000 in “recognition of the future compensation value he would be foregoing by leaving his position at Microsoft.”
• Stock option grant of 350,000 shares of the company’s common stock
• Stock option grant of 50,000 restricted stock unit
• Relocation related expense reimbursement of approximately $330,000.

You can listen to Mr. Moore himself in this interview over at Major Nelsons’ website.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Peter Moore, EA, President of EA Sports, Xbox 360