TAIPEI -- In addition to new laptops and tablets, Asus also showcased its latest home theater PC (HTPC) offerings, the VivoPC and VivoMouse, at Computex.
The VivoPC appears somewhat larger than the Mac mini, but it has a high-quality metal chassis and is designed to blend easily among A/V devices. Other key differentiators include a pair of front speakers and 3.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) support. This is unlike most small form factor PCs, which can accept only 2.5-inch HDDs.
Update: This article was originally posted on June 5, 2013 7:58 AM PDT.
Updated on June 5, 2013 8:32 AM PDT: The article has been updated to reflect a better comparison using the Mac mini rather than an Apple TV.
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Hardware-wise, the VivoPC can support an Intel Core i-series processor with integrated graphics and 16GB of RAM. If you're concerned about heat buildup, a quiet fan cooling system is used to keep the chip cool, according to an Asus representative. As for connectivity options, this model has most of the usual ports and wireless functions, ranging from an HDMI output to USB 3.0 ports and Wi-Fi.
The VivoMouse is simply a wireless optical mouse with a huge touch pad. Additional multitouch gestures can be used to switch between applications (think: Alt + Tab for Windows), scroll Web pages, and magnify a photo. Ironically, you'll still need a separate keyboard for easy text entry, which is oddly not part of the whole VivoPC-VivoMouse package.
The Asus VivoPC and VivoMouse are expected to be available worldwide in Q3 of this year and July, respectively. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.
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