Intel just unveiled a very elegant, and seriously underpowered mini PC. The long rumored fanless NUC is aimed at professionnals but should be available everywhere for $129. What Intel calls a "pint-sized powerhouse" is actually powered by a single core, single thread, 1.46 GHz Atom, and features a single memory channel and a single USB 3.0 port. It's certainly a powerhouse, just not in this dimension.
Interestingly, the aluminum fins design is all plastic, and suggests an internal CPU cooler (we do prefer this solution anyway). A Trusted Platform Module device for hardware-based data encryption could be nice too. Please Intel, pretty please, the same (or cube-like) box with your best Bay Trail chip, and you have a winner.
✓ Intel NUC Kit DE3815TYKHE
✓ Intel Atom E3815 (5W TDP)
✓ 1 x DDR3L SO-DIMM slot (8GB maximum)
✓ Intel HD Graphics (up to 400 MHz)
✓ 1 x HDMI 1.4a
✓ 1 x Embedded DisplayPort
✓ 1 x VGA
✓ Multi-channel digital audio via HDMI interface
✓ Back panel headphone / microphone jack
✓ 1 x USB 3.0
✓ 2 x USB 2.0
✓ 3 x internal USB 2.0
✓ 4GB eMMC storage device built in
✓ Internal support for 2.5-inch HDD / SSD
✓ 10 / 100 / 1000Mbps Ethernet port
✓ Half-length PCIe mini-card slot and wireless antennas pre-assembled
✓ 12V, 36W wall-mount AC-DC power adapter
✓ 190mm x 116mm x 40mm
✓ 3-year Advanced Warranty Replacement
Update: Now available on Amazon!
Update 2: First unboxing at Minimachines.
Update 3: Details of the chassis and motherboard, courtesy of Intel.
