The battle for cute, small, unobtrusive desktop PCs has begun. This time it is Dell’s turn to lock and reload with the new Studio Hybrid. It is claimed to be Dell’s most uniqe, stylish, and conscientious desktop PC that is designed to fit into the environment while protecting it.

The mini desktop can be personalized with 6 interchangeable color sleeves or bamboo, that would be like having a new PC every day except Sunday. Of course, customization means extra money to be forked out. The bamboo, for instance, will require you to shell out additional US$130. The design is very, very attractive and in my opinion the best designed mini desktop to date.

To keep up with the theme “saving the world”, Studio Hybrid uses Intel mobile platform that uses far less energy than the desktop versions. You can choose between slot-loading DVD or Blu-Ray for the optical drive, meanwhile the HDMI connection puts this desktop right at home near your new High Definition LCD TV. It’s not made for gaming, so don’t expect any discreet graphics card. Even the TV tuner option comes in USB dongle, to save space.

The price starts at US$499 (no monitor).

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Panasonic introduced its newest digital camera, DMC-LX3, a pretty bold and daring product that aims the SLR users. After scrutinizing the press release, it seems Panasonic really knows what he’s doing. Panasonic is not pushing the megapixel with this one, instead he optimizes and improve the CCD, while giving us a better lens for a compact digital camera.

Here’s some excerpts from the release

The old formula equating pixel count with image quality does not always hold true. In general, if two CCDs have exactly the same physical size but different pixel counts, the one with more pixels is not necessarily better – in fact, it’s likely to generate more picture noise, especially in low-light parts of the image. This poor low-light image quality has been a source of great dissatisfaction for compact camera users.

In the LX3, Panasonic responds to this problem by boldly reversing the industry trend of pushing toward ever-higher pixel counts. Rather than cramming in the maximum number of pixels possible, it has limited the LX3’s 1/1.63-inch CCD to 10.1 megapixels. The result is a CCD that provides a generous amount of space for each pixel while offering superb sensitivity and a wide dynamic range made possible by maximizing the size of the photodiode. Panasonic also redesigned the peripheral circuits and other components to further minimize noise generation. These enhancements greatly improve imaging performance, boosting both sensitivity and saturation by around 40% compared with ordinary 10-mexapixel compact cameras.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Here’s a device that’s supposedly to rival BlackBerry. At least in the name.
It’s not a smartphone, or even a mobile phone. Categorized as “mobile communicator”, this very-typical-Japanese gadget is equipped with limited wireless capabilities than support up to four devices connected at the same time for email, chat, and online games.

Sounds pretty good, but the big catch is you have to be in a very small 10 meter radius in order to use that. Even the messages are limited to 64 characters, shorter than SMS. Even the screen is monochrome, as in the last century.

Seeing from the design, it’s aimed to young audiences who likes cute stuffs. Oh, there’s an also virtual pet inside. Isn’t Tamagotchi dead yet? It’s 2008 already, Mates!!!

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Popularity: 16% [?]

If you’re already bored with the UMPC craze, you may jump to another new craze. The Mini PC craze. Joining Dell and ASUS, Acer unveiled Aspire X1200, set to be the dynamic and sleek entertainment center.

Measuring just 10.4-inches (L) x 3.9-inches (W) x 12.4-inches (H), the small chassis can be fitted into every desk or living room, if you may. Even though carrying the low-energy consumption tagline, Aspire X1200 is equipped with pretty mean specifications that can be used for any multimedia purposes, even 3D gaming.

To become the media-hub in your home, Acer realizes that connectivity is the key point. Maybe that’s why they squezzed no less than 9 USB ports, 14-in-1 card reader, and HDMI connection into this small box. Wow, I don’t think many people have 9 USB devices, unless you want to use at least 3 mouses at the same time.

However the most attractive thing here is the pricing. Depending on the specifications, X1200 is priced at US$499 up to US$699.

Here’s the packages available: more…

Popularity: 22% [?]