Well, that didn’t take long. Two days after its first appearance in Europe, Dell’s Zino HD has made it across the Atlantic and onto Dell’s U.S. online store.
We expected Dell’s U.S. arm to charge around $349 for the AMD-based nettop, but as it turns out, the company only demands $229 for the cheapest configuration. That config has almost everything in common with the €229 European model: a 1.6GHz single-core Athlon, Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics with HDMI out, 2GB of memory, a DVD burner, external Serial ATA connectivity, and Windows 7 Home Premium x64. However, the U.S. model lacks integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi and comes with 250GB of mechanical storage instead of 320GB.
Adding 802.11g Wi-Fi will raise the total by $20 (802.11n costs $40), and the 320GB hard drive throws on an extra $25. Dell also lets you step up to a dual-core Athlon X2 for $60, and you can chuck in an 18.5" Dell IN1910N display for $160 more. All in all, you can get yourself a pretty decent small-form-factor desktop for well under $500. (The Zino HD measures only 7.8" x 7.8" x 3.4".)
Update: Although it’s too early to draw any conclusions, it appears that the U.S. Zino HD product page alternatively displays $229 and $359 price tags for the cheapest config when refreshed. We’ll keep you posted.