Via goes glam with new PCs
Why should Apple Computer have all the design fun? High-fashion PCs are on the way, says Via Technologies, a Taipei-based supplier of processors and other electronic components. The company took the wraps off its Vogue Mini-PCs at the Via Technology Forum in Taiwan last week.
The Vogue model sports a "pret-a-porter" wardrobe of designer computer shells that can be selected to match the setting. There's a black leather-bound option for the office, a chrome frame that might fit in with your other gleaming appliances in the kitchen, and finishes like rubber and wood. Among the internal specs: a Via C7 processor and the company's CN800 chipset.
Via wants to be a part of the trend toward making PCs more of a lifestyle device, so it hopes to please the couture-conscious, and get home and business users to ditch their beige and gray boxes. The company's even sponsoring a "Freedom to be Me" contest, in which consumers can submit design feedback on the Vogue wardrobe skins for a chance to win a Vogue Mini-PC.
Richard Brown, Via's vice president of corporate marketing, started a blog for the new mini-PC a couple of weeks ago. In it, he says the pre-launch product will go to market this September, but didn't provide details on pricing and where to buy the product.