Dell is jumping into the world of tiny Intel Atom-powered desktops with the OptiPlex 160. There really isn’t anything fancy or special about this nettop. It lacks an optical drive but has the standard Atom CPU, Gigabit Ethernet, Wifi, and a trio of hard drive options including a 160GB HDD, 64GB SSD, or 20GB “Ultra Performance” drive. Prices start out $536 for the base model, which when compared to other similar spec’d nettops, indicate that you are clearing paying a Dell tax — or they are setting these up for a big ’sale.’

Surprise, surprise. The underpowered nettops aren’t selling so well. Sales are lagging so much that Asus is benching the Intel Atom for the more powerful Celeron CPU in an upcoming Eee Box release. The hard drive is also getting bumped to 120GB from 80GB. Overall, Asus still sees a future over this mini-desktops with 100,000 – 200,000 selling this year and over a million next as it the computer enters new markets. To bad nettops are still sorely underpowered by today’s standard.

MSI deserves a round of high-fives for the Windbox. Generally, all-in-one computers tend to be pricey and stick owners with limited LCD screen options so the Windbox’s mounting solution just makes so much sense. The nettop is a slim-line PC that affixes to the standard LCD VESA mounting holes allowing owners to choose their monitor.

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