New Commodore Invictus from Commodore USA

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Actually there is a fair amount of information about it:

Geeky Gadgets

Buy it on Amazon

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Only one review so far.  They didn't like it....

   
11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
 A big disappointment!, May 19, 2010
By    Tzu-liang Lo "findingnemo" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: ASUS EeeKeyboard (Electronics)
i had high expectation for this product... but tried it for one day and i decided to return it. my reasons :

1) too expensive - basically it's a netbook, similar to Asus's Asus Eee PC 1001P-MU17-BK 10.1-Inch Intel Atom Netbook Computer (Black) or Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black (i have both of them, and 2-3 starts to both of them), so $600 is too expensive for a netbook (OK, it has ultra-band wireless HD, that's fair to add some $$ for it, but it has no display, which just balance off the wireless HD, so still expensive at $600);

2)loud - the wireless HD receiver has a fan that is loud, even after i have turned the tv audio volume up;

3)this is the most worse one : it can not even handle Hulu and Netflix videos, let along my 1080p mkv videos collections (impossible)

high expectation turned out to be a big disappointment... that's all i can say.

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Specs:

For those of you who need a recapitulation of the specifications, the Eee PC Keyboard packs Intel's Atom N270 processor; 1GB of DDR2;Ultra Wide Band built in transmitter and external receiver WLAN 802.11 b/g/n; 10/100/1000 LAN; Bluetooth V2.1; a 5-inch 800x480 LED multi-touch display; wireless-N; HDMI out from keyboard and UWB receiver; VGA out; 3 x USB 2.0 ports and Windows XP Home.

Asus' All-in-One Eee Keyboard PC Finally Ships

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On the other board they say it's a Great Wall Cross PC U150 Ion-izes the Eee Keyboard

This is the original un-doctored image:



Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

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I wonder what sales of this thing have been so far?  The Amazon page isn't exactly overflowing with comments.  People will likely say oh look a commodore and get it home to discover that it's a netbook sans screen.

Oh and I wouldn't count on OS X, Apple has removed support for the Atom processor.

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It appears that "Commodore" USA intends to be a distributor for all the screen-less laptops that are currently being made....

I do admire the fact that they don't hide the fact that they are redistributing other companies' products under the Commodore name.  They do get a point for honesty for that....

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From the other board it also appears that large chunk of "Commodore" USA's website are plagerised from Apple's Mac Mini page....

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Quoted from AW.Net....

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but the Commodore USA story gets worse and worse. Compare http://www.commodoreusa.net/Commodore_Phoenix_computer.html to http://www.apple.com/macmini/design.html.

"There’s nothing like Mac mini. At just 6.5 inches square and 2 inches tall, it’s designed to take up far less room — and use far less energy — than any other desktop computer."

"Introducing the Commodore Phoenix. There’s nothing like it. At just 17.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall, it’s designed to take up far less room — and use far less energy — than any other desktop computer."

"Small. Simple. Beautiful. Mac mini has a sleek, anodized aluminum case and clean, white surface. It’s small, elegant, and unassuming. In fact, it looks so simple it's hard to believe it’s a computer at all."

"Small. Simple. Beautiful. [The Commodore Phoenix] has a sleek, aluminum finish case and a clean, contemporary surface. It's small, elegant, and unassuming. In fact, it looks so simple it's hard to believe it's a computer at all."

...and so on. It continues down the page. He doesn't do himself any favours, does he?

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The only review of the Asus screenless laptop (aka "Commodore" USA Invicta) said it's too slow for 720 p.  There's no more reviews, either the people that buy these things don't write reviews or they don't sell very well.

Most people I've seen with a computer hooked up to their TV tend to do it with a small tower and bluetooth controls, it's a similar effect except the bluetooth key board doesn't require a power cord whilst these screenless laptops do...  That option offers far more power at a lower price and better cooling.  

I was under the impression that like the VIA chipset that comes with the Nano, the ION chipset offered hardware decoding for various codecs precisely so that the Atom would only be shuffling the data rather than doing the grunt work (assuming you have the drivers).



Actually the point about these sorts of system isn't world beating performance but as a small system that fits into your current lifestyle without requiring masses of room - computers that aren't intrusive. Asus make an absolute killing on these sorts of systems, Apple have practically built themselves on precisely this model.

Your definition of what constitutes a "new Commodore" is solely yours.

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Sorry I mixed the machines up in my last post. It's 7:30 on a monday morning, off to work I go....

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If you are a gamer none of the wanna-be Commodore USA products would be of any interest.  They live in a world of gigabyte plus video cards and i7s at this point.  To be fair they would also turn up their noses at my Mac  Pro too. Gamers can't be the target audience of the screenless laptops.

What I imagine is a some kids who ask their parents for computers will end up stuck with them because their parents will see the commodore name and not do the maths on price/performance.

Is that what Berry is counting on?  These things haven't exactly flown off the shelves under their original brand names, it's hard to see a real use for them in 2010...

Is Berry going after the other Asus products?  Are we going to see a "Commodore" CccPad based on the EeePad or "Commodore" Revo?

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I don't think "Commodore USA" is representing it's computers as anything but PCs, so I'm not sure what DaNi is talking about.

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"Commodore" X1000 and "Commodore" SAMs?  "Commodore" OLPC?  "Commodore" iPad?  "Commodore" iPhone?  

Amiga USA

Please Note: Because of an unusually high call volume we have received, we do not list a telephone number on this website. If you need to contact us by phone, please e-mail us first with your name, company name (if applicable), and information about your inquiry with a phone number we can call to reach you and we will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you for your interest in AMIGA products.

I give you a clue only read the last line
http://www.commodoreusa.net/profile.html

And it comes before 18 of June 2010

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Core i3 laptop

US$549, same brand as "Commodore" USA (Asus), but not screenless and a more modern processor...

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@the_leander

Part of the problem with everything being made in China is that unless you are really big like Apple you can't really stop a chinese factory from selling the same stuff to another brand.  Computer companies are more and more becoming the marketing arm of Chinese Factories.

Do you have any idea how many of these Asus sold?  It's really difficult to visualise a situation where they would be better than a laptop or desktop.  There is a reason these things died out a couple decades ago...