Zonbu Zonbox

Reviews: Hardware

Motherboards | Power Supplies | Memory | Systems | Video Cards

Zonbu Zonbox

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Anthony Fiti
Beth
Zonbu
Aug. 6, 2007

Specifications

<< Home

Next >>

Introduction

The PC industry is known for making their products small and fast, and the Zonbu Zonbox is an interesting advancement in the arena. The goal of the box is to provide a simple, Linux-based PC that offers basic functionality like web browsing, productivity, and entertainment.

Zonbu is also a hit on the green front. The Zonbox not only runs off of a very low power Intel CPU, but also uses a compact flash card for the hard drive, which helps it consume much less power than its counterpart, desktop PC models.

The Zonbox also uses Amazon's S3 web services for remote storage. A monthly subscription provides 25, 50, or 100GB of online storage space, and the computer automatically manages copying the files to the server when they're updated.

Zonbu's Zonbox is loaded with buzzwords: green, desktop Linux, open source. But can it deliver, or is it just a bunch of hype?

First Looks

The box is small. Very small. It measures about 2.25" tall by 6.5" wide and 5" deep when laid flat, or roughly the size of an optical drive. The box can either be laid flat on a desk, or placed vertically on its side with the assistance of a stand.

The front of the device contains the power button, as well as a single USB port and indicator LEDs for the on/off and HD access. The rear has a master on/off switch (to completely power down the unit - not put it into standby), DC in (through the use of the power brick), PS2 ports for a keyboard and mouse, five USB ports, 10/100 Ethernet, VGA, audio out and microphone in, and a compact flash card slot which contains the 4GB memory card the device uses as its hard drive.

The case is very sturdy, and combines both form and functionality. It is completely metal; the top and bottom of the case feature fins that aid in the passive cooling of the device. This also adds some weight. Unless you plan on carrying it around, though, it shouldn't be a big deal.

<< Home

Page 1 of 5

Next >>

Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Hardware & Software
Page 3: Online Storage & Power Consumption
Page 4: Pricing & Add-Ons
Page 5: Conclusion

Subscribe to Systems [more info]

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.

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.