MSI WindBox Dismounted, Teased at CeBit
When we saw MSI’s WindBox at CES back in January, the company had the nettop as it’s supposed to be, mounted onto the back of an LCD panel. However, according to reports from this year’s CeBit, MSI had the box laid out on the table rather than hidden away.
At first we wondered why. Why not have the product displayed the way it’s intended to be used in the customer’s home? Then we took a look at some pictures and slowly realized what MSI was getting at.
When we saw the WindBox at CES, it took us forever to actually find it. We had to ask two MSI spokespeople, where it was. We asked, “Do you guys have the mounted nettop here?” and received blank stares. “You know, it’s an Atom powered nettop that’s mounted onto the back of an LCD panel?” More blank looks and a “can you be a little more specific?” Not really. Eventually we found it ourselves (completely by accident, we’d given up at that stage) and took a few pictures of what we could see. It being mounted onto the back of an LCD panel, that equated to not very much.
Seeing as how we found it quite by accident, and no one working the booth seemed to know it was there, not to mention the fact that when we did find it, it was hard to photograph, it sort of makes sense to have it out in the open. People actually notice it (instead of thinking it’s just an LCD sitting there doing nothing) and it makes for better pictures, which in turn makes for better coverage, making for better publicity.
As for when it's coming out and for how much it'll cost? MSI still isn't letting on just yet.
Check out the pics below, or hit Engadget for more.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Hothr No HDMI? No digital audio output? No DVI? I wanted to put one of these on the back of a LCD TV and stream video. Many TVs don't have a VGA input. I guess I'll have to wait for the next version.Reply -
techtre2003 By the title of the article, I thought people were making fun of the poor little box :)Reply -
AndrewMD The only LCD/Plasma I have seen without a VGA port is made by Panasonic. Most other manufactures do include the VGA port (Sony, Samsung, Vizio, AOC, Viewsonic, Mitsubushi, Pionner, etc.) Even most of the private label LCDs include a VGA port. Alternatively, some manufactures will include a DVI port which will accept analog (vga) or digital.Reply
Pricing on this unit would be appreciated since I have a few LCDs laying around that could be converted to Digital TVs.
Also, what's with the title of this article.. there is no teasing from what I read of the article, just the models didn't have a clue what the reporter was asking about.... hardly teasing in my books...? -
Humans think HothrNo HDMI? No digital audio output? No DVI? I wanted to put one of these on the back of a LCD TV and stream video. Many TVs don't have a VGA input. I guess I'll have to wait for the next version.Reply
That was exactly what I would say, is a HTPC oriented version coming out? Tomshardware plz ask MSI, analog 5.1 output woulds also be nice :P -
neiroatopelcc AndrewMDThe only LCD/Plasma I have seen without a VGA port is made by Panasonic. Most other manufactures do include the VGA port (Sony, Samsung, Vizio, AOC, Viewsonic, Mitsubushi, Pionner, etc.) Even most of the private label LCDs include a VGA port. Alternatively, some manufactures will include a DVI port which will accept analog (vga) or digital. Pricing on this unit would be appreciated since I have a few LCDs laying around that could be converted to Digital TVs.Also, what's with the title of this article.. there is no teasing from what I read of the article, just the models didn't have a clue what the reporter was asking about.... hardly teasing in my books...?Well true. But just because the tv does have a vga input doesn't mean it's the best choice. For a cheap lcd it's kinda irrelevant, but even the average quality panels show better colors and in general a better image using a dvi cable. I don't know about hdmi though. But if your tv has dvi, you'd want to use it. But I suppose a version with an ion inside will be available at some point, so you'll get your connectors in the next generation I'm sure.Reply