Ion-based Acer Hornet nettop specs leak out: 1080p HDMI playback. $299

[DannyDroid]

Well, well, what's this? We just received a ton of information on that hot little Acer Hornet nettop we'd heard about a while back, and if this pile of documentation is as real as it looks, this thing could be the holy grail of cheap HTPCs -- not only does it support 1080p video playback over HDMI, the "Media Center" version will indeed come with a Wii-like remote that can be used for gaming as well as media control. Specs look more than decent for the targeted $149-$299 price range: the low end model pairs what sounds like an Atom N230 with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB drive preloaded with Vista Home Basic, while higher end models get 2GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, and a "Boxshell" quickboot OS in addition to Vista Home Premium. All this plus super-quiet sub-26dB operation and a slick diamond-shaped chassis designed to hang off the back of your flatscreen? We're potentially in love -- when you gonna make our dreams come true, Acer? Full spec chart after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/31/i...hdmi-playback/

Can anyone say the perfect boxee box?

[DPK]

Looks promising, definitely. Good find and now I'd like to see a few reviews on this before I commit to getting one. It'd be a pretty nice tv-side box that could be networked to a central media server in my house.

Looks like it gets released in China on April 8th. Hope it gets over here to the States quick after that.

[subvertbeats]

looks awesome......ill definitely pick one of these up if/when they come to the UK