Shuttle XPS X50 V2 15.6-inch All-In-One PC

Jan 28 2011 - Shuttle's second version of the XPC X50 really doesn't change all that much from the original version and that is the biggest problem. The X50 V2 is priced too high, has very limited features and even more limited performance. It really is a specialized system that is more designed for a corporate use than as a home computer system. There are so many other options for consumers that are less expensive and have more options that there really is no reason to consider this all-in-one.

Jan 28 2011 - Shuttle's XPC X50 had some noble design goals in mind when it was released last year. It just had too many flaws in it for it to be a viable all-in-one system. The company has released a new V2 revision of this that includes a version with a black exterior case but little else has changed.

The XPC X50 V2 is still based on the Intel Atom processor with an upgrade to the newer D510 dual core version. This isn't much of an improvement over the previous D330 processor and gives it very limited performance. It is best suited to basic tasks such as web browsing and email. Much of this has to do with the fact that it comes with just 1GB of DDR2 memory. The result is the system has to rely heavily upon virtual memory which slows things down even further.

Storage features are still stuck in the era of the original netbook releases from several years ago with their highly restrictive license terms. A small 160GB hard drive is pretty much it. This is extremely limited when you consider that most netbooks and nettops systems have move to at least 250GB drives. Other similarly priced all-in-ones typically come with at least 500GB or more of space as well. To keep the size down, the system lacks any DVD drive meaning it can't be used for playing or record CDs or DVDs at all.

To keep its compact size, the XPC X50 V2 still uses the small 15.6-inch display. It does not feature multitouch capability which is extremely restrictive for the system other than to be used as a mouse replacement. It does include a stylus that stores inside the top of the screen which helps keeps fingerprints and smudges to a minimum. Still, doing any kind of work on the system such as email really requires at least a keyboard which the company does not include. Maybe they wanted the system to feel more like a laptop since it does have a built in handle and stand but at this price it is possible to even get a 15-inch laptop that offers more.

Pricing still remains the single largest problem with the Shuttle XPC X50 V2. It carries a $750 list price just like the previous model that is just too high. There are a host of systems available from manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo and MSI that are either more affordable, more powerful or both. Shuttle needs to either drop prices or add more features if they really want to compete in this segment.