VIA EPIA Mini-ITX Mainboard at the Heart of Bleu Jour’s Chic and Tiny ‘B1 Box’ Barebones PC

Bleu Jour, in association with renowned French reseller Bacatá, bring the ‘French touch’ to computing with the new, ultra compact B1 Box, featuring the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard.

Taipei, Taiwan and Paris, France, 17 October 2002 - VIA Technologies, Inc., a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the first design win from France for the highly acclaimed VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard with the launch this week of the stylish and ultra compact B1 Box barebones PC by system integrator and distributor Bleu Jour, in association with Bacatá.

Located near Toulouse in the South of France, Bleu Jour has introduced a classic ‘French touch’ to the design and functionality of this highly integrated barebones PC. Measuring just 23cm x 20.5cm x 19cm, the attractive B1 Box uses unique, light weight materials such as an anodized aluminum body and micro dotted aluminum sheath with a fiberglass outer casing to achieve its stylish appearance. Optimal use of space inside the case enables the integration of up to two internal hard disks, thus further extending its list of possible uses to include a range of storage and server devices.

“We believe that the most efficient, high quality solutions will always be best placed to meet the needs of the market,” said Jean-Christophe Agobert, Marketing Director of Bacatá and Bleu Jour. “With the creation of the B1 Box, VIA is clearly aligned with our philosophy in enabling the creation of a compact, flexible system where design, quiet running and a good price-performance ratio are more important than over-specified performance.”

Entirely designed and manufactured in France, the B1 Box affords French system integrators faster time to market and greater flexibility in order quantities. System integrators can also benefit from customizing small quantities of products (starting from 100 units). This system is being brought to market in cooperation with Bacatá, a renowned French reseller that will market and distribute the B1 Box.

“VIA is proud to be such an integral part of this versatile, modern and attractive system that represents a new generation of computing,” commented Richard Brown, Director of Marketing at VIA Technologies, Inc. “Bleu Jour has taken full advantage of the small form factor and high levels of integration of the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard in the design of this unique barebones PC, and the use of non traditional materials, space optimization and a range of chassis colors reflect the high levels of innovation at Bleu Jour.”

Due to its extremely small size of a mere 17cm x 17cm combined with unprecedented levels of integration, the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard is proving to be the ideal solution for the new genre PC that is small, aesthetically pleasing and capable, such as the B1 Box. Optimized for the Internet, office and the most popular productivity applications and operating systems, the B1 Box enables system integrators and retailers to produce a computer to meet customer needs. Its chic design and next generation look and feel make it as welcome in the living room as in commercial or educational settings.

B1 Box Specifications
Based on the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard, the B1 Box barebones PC comprises one internal 5 ¼” drive bay, two internal 3 ½” drive bays, a 120 Volt Flex ATX power supply, and an internal fan (optional 50 mm).

B1 Box Pricing and Availability
The B1 Box will be available in October 2002 for 240 euros in OEM quantities. This attractive system is currently available in blue, yellow and black, with other colours available shortly.

Ultra Compact VIA EPIA Mini-ITX Mainboard
The VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard provides system integrators and OEMs with a standardized ultra compact yet highly integrated platform that can be utilized across multiple small form factor PC and connectivity device product lines. With a footprint that measures only 170mm x 170mm, the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard is more than 33% smaller than any other motherboard form factor currently available on the market. It also comes with a rich feature set that includes an onboard native x86 processor (EBGA package) and CPU cooler, integrated AGP graphics and audio, USB, TV-Out connector, Ethernet networking, and S/PDIF 5.1 audio channels that are not available on other small form factor motherboards.

Featuring a powerful native x86 processor core, 192KB full speed L1/L2 cache, and MMX and 3DNow! support, the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX delivers leading edge PC application and Internet performance on an embedded platform and is fully compatible with a complete range of operating systems. Market-leading thermal characteristics make the VIA EPIA Mini-ITX the ideal solution for ergonomic system designs for a variety of innovative low profile, small form factors, and translate into lower energy costs and affordable quiet operation. The EPIA Mini-ITX is also available with the fanless VIA Eden Platform for ultra low power connected designs. More information can be found at:
http://www.viavpsd.com/product/epia_mini_itx_spec.jsp.


About Bleu Jour, the “French Touch"
Reputed the world over, French creativity and design have now entered the world of information technology. In this rapidly evolving environment, "Bleu Jour" offers creations in which aesthetic sense is combined with innovative and daring technical solutions. B1, entirely manufactured in France, is the first of an extremely promising series of cases. Other concepts are also being developed and will soon enter the market.

About Bacatá
For a long time, Bacatá has been one of the leading players in the European import market for hardware. In this context, there are fundamental values that are shared by everyone in the company. These values and all the aspects they cover are a result of deep reflection within the company. These values are: reactivity, innovation, quality of products and perpetual look for improvement. Website: www.bacata.net

About VIA Technologies, Inc.
VIA Technologies, Inc. is a leading innovator and developer of PC core logic chipsets, microprocessors, and multimedia, communications, optical media and networking chips. VIA delivers value to the PC industry by designing, marketing, and selling high-performance VIA Apollo core logic chipsets for the full range of PC platforms, and cost-effective VIA C3™ processors for Value PCs and Internet Appliances, as well as developing complete solutions for the PC platform through its VPSD Business Unit. Its customers include the world's top OEMs, mainboard manufacturers, and system integrators. VIA is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, at the center of the Greater China high-tech manufacturing engine, and has branch offices in the US, China and Europe. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE2388), and achieved annual revenues of nearly US$1 billion in 2001. Additional information can be found at www.via.com.tw.