Shuttle completes its reinvention

SHUTTLE KEEPS GETTING better and better, from its return last year to the new concepts its showing off this year. The proof is in the products and there were a lot of those as well.

Shuttle XP19 monitor

If you remember the XP19 monitor and speakers from Computex, you will probably be pleased to know they are in production now. There is even a touch screen version that should be available shortly. The speakers made the cut as well, the LEDs went from blue to red, but they still can't be turned off. We would be tempted to avoid them for that reason, but the monitor is very nice, made much more usable by the matte finish.

H9 5800 i7 concept case

What will probably be the mainstream case design is now a concept and it will be based off the H9 5800 prototype they were showing off. The guts are irrelevant, the design is what matters, and it was very slick in person. Notice the cut corner with the power button on it, that adds a lot of class to the box. The front is hinged on the right, and it opens up just below the three indicator lights to reveal a pretty normal internal faceplate.

There is also an H7 5800, a production model with the same guts as the H9 but using a standard Shuttle box. It is an i7-based machine and will do Crossfire or SLI - an amazing feat in such a small space. For those who insist on a laptop for Lan parties, an H7 5800 and an XP19 will give you a lot of FPS over the twits with an Alienware toy burning a hole in their leg.

KPCs are the name of the new low end/Linux line that Shuttle put out last year. We told you about them first a year ago, and now they have a bunch of models sold under the KPC brand. The latest is the K5600, a Via C7 + CN7000 based computer. It retails for $139 or so including the box and CPU. If you want a really nice machine to build an HTPC around, get one of these and slap an ATI 4500/4600 in. Add in some Ram, an HD, Mythbuntu, and for under $300, you have a complete system. Damn nice.

X50 All-In-One

There have been a lot of things that come close to being a true All-In-One PC from Shuttle, but until now, none has gone all the way. The X50 pulls it off, it comes with a touch screen and a flip up handle. As you can see, the handle goes from the up/carry position to a stand to a wall mount, so you can put this any place you want. There is also a shell for the Broken OS that will work with their touch screen for easy kiosk/information stand work.

Last up, there were two prototypes on display, one is almost assuredly coming to market. If you recall the old flame covered SDXi models, high end gaming boxes with sytle, the new one will be quite familiar. The latest SDXi is a 'carbon' version with a honeycomb faux carbon fiber wrap. Inside, it has two liquid cooled high end GPUs and a high end CPU. They start at $2500, but once again, for lan parties, they are the most portable power you can get.

X27 home automation prototypes

A little farther out is the X27 home automation system. It may look like the next PSP, but it is just a wireless controller. The basic guts are already there, the surveillance PC and tablets have all the software and interfaces in place, just add essentially a wireless keyboard and readout, and you have all you need. I would expect something like this to be out next year.

So, what a difference a year makes. Eightheen months ago, Shuttle was talking about reinventing itself, now that is done, quite successfully. If they keep putting out solid products with innovative ideas behind them, the best is yet to come. µ