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Zonbu Zonbox
Online Storage
One area in which Zonbu is remarkably different from other companies is in its data storage paradigm. Instead of having a local hard drive, they use a 4GB compact flash card to store the operating system and act as a cache for your files. All personal files are stored, not on the local PC, but on a Zonbu server. And, not only does it store your content, but also your configuration files for each application (Pidgin, Firefox, etc). I copied a 700MB collection of files from my main PC to the Zonbox, and it took 210 seconds. From there the files would be uploaded to Zonbu's servers. I have a 1Mb/s upstream connection, and at that rate it would take approximately 90 minutes, if I dedicated my entire connection to the upload (which I have control over in the settings - I can cap the speed if I so desire). Zonbu also provides a web interface to retrieve and manage files. So, not only are your documents stored safely online, but they are also available from any web connection. You can also upload files to their web servers. The only catch is that if you upload files via the server, you need to manually refresh the folder you put it in via their interface. There is no automatic "push" of the uploaded files to your device. Power Consumption Power consumption has become a big deal lately, with the emphasis on emissions and global climate change. Zonbu advertises a 15W power draw, and my results from my Kill-a-watt device show 12-13W, so I'm confident that the numbers are accurate. If you factor in six USB ports at 500mW maximum power draw each, that's around 15W. The company also states that a normal PC will consume around 150W, which I also find to be reasonable number, as my 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo draws 140W at idle with stock speeds, 150W at idle when I crank it up to 3.2 GHz, 193W loaded with stock speeds, and 215W loaded when overclocked. Zonbu, however, neglects to factor in the monitor and speakers most PC users have. An average 19" LCD monitor will consume 30-35W when on, and 1-3W when in power-save mode. If you're using a CRT, forget about it - a 19" CRT can use up to 100W of power. Speakers will consume anywhere from 4W up to 15W (for those with a subwoofer). If you peg the numbers at 35W for the speakers and monitor, then you'll see that, while still more green than a traditional PC, the "ten times factor" Zonbu likes to quote isn't exactly true. The Zonbox, monitor, and speakers will consume 50W of power, and the typical desktop equivalent will consume 185W. So, there is somewhere between three and four times less power consumed. One thing to remember is that usage habits are just as important as how much power a PC uses. If I leave the Zonbox on all day, it will consume around 1.2kWh of energy, while the desktop will use 4.4kW of energy. However, if I turn my desktop PC off when I'm not home or am asleep (roughly 16 hours per day), my desktop PC consumption will drop to 1.5kW per day, as well as saving me about $127 per year on energy costs (at 12c/kW - what I get charged by my power company). This can be applied to the Zonbox as well, but the savings aren't as significant ($35/yr). The closest computer I could reasonably compare the Zonbox to would be the Mac Mini. The Mini uses 24W when idle, which is double the power consumption of an idle Zonbox. Note that the Mac Mini has a dual core processor (1.66 GHz), as well as a normal spindle-based HDD, and is capable of running Windows. Of course, the Mini is more than double the cost of the Zonbox as well.
Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Hardware & Software Page 3: Online Storage & Power Consumption Page 4: Pricing & Add-Ons Page 5: Conclusion 
Related Reviews Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
handrail
on August 7, 2007 - 4:27 pm seems like this would be a much better idea if it could use a large format solid state hdd rather than the online storage. maybe when the larger SSDs come along, this will be a more feasible concept?
2 - Posted by
Max Slowik
on August 7, 2007 - 7:08 pm You can get CF cards in what, 16 and 32GB flavors? Holy crap, they're cheap. $125 for 16GB. It seems like just last year that would buy you 512MB. 3 - Posted by
handrail
on August 8, 2007 - 10:37 am yeah, in a year i'm sure they'll be up to the 100+ GB sizes. i can't wait for those. i've been holding out on serial drives in favor of the SSDs.
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