ViewSonic builds in a PC

ViewSonic, the monitor and TV company, has jumped into the PC business – just when it’s getting really profitable (not). The new VPC100 All-in-One, a 19-inch widescreen LCD monitor with a PC CPU and DVD drive tacked on, is the company’s first crack. It sells for $599. (See the press release here.) I’m reviewing it for Small Business Computing.com.

So far, so good. It sets up easily and looks kind of cool – all sleek and piano black. The monitor (1366x768 pixels, 1000:1 contrast ratio) certainly looks better than my aging Dell screen, but the keyboard and mouse (wired, not wireless) feel a little flimsy, and the sound is barely better than a laptop.

It’s also underpowered, with an Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz single core) processor running XP. Think of it as a stationary netbook. Who would buy this? Very light users. The style conscious. Someone looking to equip the office nook in their condo kitchen.

Look for my full review in a couple of weeks here.