Despite being great space-savers, All-in-One computers have been getting bigger and bigger over the years. But Shuttle's new P20U bucks that trend and shrinks the touch display down to tablet size for a computing machine that's being aimed primarily at point-of-sale applications rather than tiny student digs.
Shuttle's XPC all-in-one P20U computer comes as a barebones machine, meaning that buyers will have to fork out extra for memory modules, storage drives, operating system and so on. An 11.6 inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution capacitive multi-touch display is present though, which is reported splash- and dust-resistant to IP54 standards. That's big enough for watching YouTube videos or displaying product information in a retail setting, but photo editing or complicated spreadsheet creation might be challenging.
If you want to feed the visuals to a bigger monitor, that's possible via the included HDMI 1.4 and VGA connections. Though if you were to do that for any length of time, you may as well go for a mini-PC and plonk it on your desk or mount it behind the display.
The P20U has 29.9 x 27.1 x 5 cm (11.7 x 10.6 x 1.9 in) dimensions, but throwing out its included cable tidy can shave a further 6.8 cm off its height. Inside, there's a 1.8 GHz Intel Celeron dual-core 3865U processor with integrated HD graphics, and up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM can be spread over the unit's two SO-DIMM slots. There's room in there for a 2.5-inch format SATA HDD or SSD and an M.2 NVMe SSD, too.
Bluetooth 4.1 and 802.11n Wi-Fi are already cooked-in, but there's a Type A USB connection inside and slots for external antennas, should users wish to create a 4G-capable machine. If cabled internet is available, a Gigabit Ethernet port should help in that regard. The housing sports six USB ports (two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0) for connecting peripherals or storage, as well as two serial interfaces and an SD card reader. Optional extras include an NFC module, perhaps for contactless payment.
A fanless design makes the P20U a mite quieter than many bigger AIOs, while lending itself to continuous operation. It comes with its own adjustable stand, which can be removed to reveal a standard VESA mounting surface for hanging on walls and such.
The barebones P20U is available now for €309 (about US$355).
Product page: XPC P20U
I can get a surface Go with much better specs and only 0.3" thick for $399 that would fulfill the same function plus a lot more.