This Mini PC Doubles as a Not-So-Great Tablet

A decent mini PC tin powerfulness your homelab, basal successful for a ample desktop tower, oregon service arsenic the vas for immoderate weird Linux task you're pursuing. But mini PCs aren't portable. At least, astir of them aren't.

The caller SZBOX S9 is simply a modern Intel N200 mini PC with an integrated seven-inch touchscreen and a 3,400mAh battery. So, it doubles arsenic a precise small, somewhat chunky tablet with a abbreviated artillery life. There's adjacent a built-in kickstand, though the shaper stopped abbreviated of adding a Microsoft Surface-like detachable keyboard.

All things considered, this is simply a beauteous decent mini PC. The Intel N200 processor is simply a fashionable prime close present due to the fact that it's cheap, powerful, and comparatively efficient. It boasts a maximum 3.7GHz timepiece velocity and supports 4K hardware video transcoding done Intel Quick Sync (with H.2655 encoding and decoding, notably). A generous 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of M.2 retention are included with the unit, and its larboard selection—well, it has way excessively many ports for a "portable" machine.

A trio of USB 3.2 (Type-A) ports enactment the apical of the SZBOX S9, portion a azygous USB 2.0 larboard rests connected its edge. There's 2 USB-C ports—one for charging, different for video retired and different functionality—a Gigabit Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone output. My MacBook Air is ashamed of itself close now. There's adjacent Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, which volition travel successful useful if you ever take to dainty this mini PC similar a tablet.

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The seven-inch surface isn't overmuch of a stunner. It sports a 1290x800 solution and is, again, conscionable 7 inches diagonal. I uncertainty that anyone would ever usage this mini PC for hardcore media consumption, though I could beryllium wrong, arsenic determination are plentifulness of radical who ticker movies and shows connected the seven-inch Amazon Fire Tablet.

Despite its awkward design, the SZBOX S9 mightiness beryllium utile successful nonrecreational settings that necessitate abbreviated bursts of mobile computing—the mini PC spends astir of its clip astatine a table oregon successful a rolling cart, and you occasionally unplug it erstwhile you request to spell wire-free. It could beryllium the brains of a mobile audio signaling rig, too, and adjacent successful a location server oregon HTPC situation wherever the PC ne'er enjoys immoderate "mobile" usage, the SZBOX S9's integrated artillery could basal successful for an uninterruptible powerfulness supply.

As for whether I'll beryllium buying this hybrid tablet mini PC monstrosity—hell nah. There are dozens of distant desktop solutions for Windows and Linux. I tin already passageway into my mini PC from my iPad, my laptop, and adjacent my phone, truthful wherefore would I privation to transportation astir a PC oregon accent implicit its tiny battery? I could spot myself utilizing thing similar the SZBOX S9 successful a portable movie oregon audio rig, but astatine that point, I'd astir apt conscionable bargain a Mac Mini, a customized 1U rack mount, and a portable monitor.

SZBOX is selling its hybrid tablet mini PC for $341 astatine Amazon (though the listing is "out of stock" astatine the clip of publication). It's not a atrocious terms for a mini PC with an integrated surface and a battery, but if you're conscionable looking for a regular ol' Intel N200 mini PC, determination are plentifulness of cheaper options from brands similar Beelink.

Source: TechRadar