Misc Bits and Summary
Jetway had their usual array of motherboards on display, including the cheap and tiny 860T motherboard. They had updated versions of the miniQ series of cubes.
Skyhawk (previously mentioned) had a nice cube machine that looked suspiciously like VIA's 'Hi-Fi' PC on their stand.
This article has outlined what I considered to be the major stuff that I saw on my one day visit. I'm sure there is stuff I missed.
In summing up, I'd say that the SFF market is going to be pretty interesting over the next year: Shuttle no longer have the market to themselves, but of course they do recognize that fact - hence their tie ups with Soldam and their ever increasing portfolio of models. I'm sure they won't rest on their laurels this year.
All the other manufacturers now realise that the SFF market offers new opportunities for sales, even if they don't believe in SFF as the way forward. I'm sure we'll see the whole thing split into two camps. One side will be offered with all the features you could want, but concentrate on a cheap price. The other side will offer increased sophistication and facilities with a more premium price point. I'm sure that there is a place for both.
VIA will have an even harder year, as the min-iTX format that they have 'owned' for the last year is now being over-run with competing models with lower prices, more features and faster processors. I'm sure they'll hold out, but I'm sure they'll have to work extra hard to keep standing still.
More mini-iTX cases! Just what we need, as there has been a real shortage of cases so far. Many of these have been overpriced and not really of the quality you'd expect for the money. This won't last now that more cases are coming along. These cases are in both cheap and expensive flavours, so there'll be something to suit all tastes and wallets.
What will this all mean? Well, hopefully all these new products will mean that SFF is now becoming 'mainstream' and all us early SFF adopters and enthusiasts who have been shouting its praises can sit back and think that we helped to get it there.....
Roll on the SFF wave!
