A decent mini PC can power your homelab, stand in for a large desktop tower, or serve as the vessel for whatever weird Linux project you’re pursuing. But mini PCs aren’t portable. At least, most of them aren’t.
The new SZBOX S9 is a modern Intel N200 mini PC with an integrated seven-inch touchscreen and a 3,400mAh battery. So, it doubles as a very small, somewhat chunky tablet with a short battery life. There’s even a built-in kickstand, although the manufacturer stopped short of adding a Microsoft Surface-like detachable keyboard.
All things considered, this is a pretty decent mini PC. The Intel N200 processor is a popular choice right now because it’s cheap, powerful, and relatively efficient. It boasts a maximum 3.7GHz clock speed and supports 4K hardware video transcoding through Intel Quick Sync (with H.2655 encoding and decoding, notably). A generous 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of M.2 storage are included with the unit, and its port selection—well, it has way too many ports for a “portable” machine.
A trio of USB 3.2 (Type-A) ports line the top of the SZBOX S9, while a single USB 2.0 port rests on its edge. There’s two USB-C ports—one for charging, another for video out and other functionality—a Gigabit Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone output. My MacBook Air is ashamed of itself right now. There’s even Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, which will come in handy if you ever choose to treat this mini PC like a tablet.
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The seven-inch screen isn’t much of a stunner. It sports a 1290×800 resolution and is, again, just seven inches diagonal. I doubt that anyone would ever use this mini PC for hardcore media consumption, though I could be wrong, as there are plenty of people who watch movies and shows on the seven-inch Amazon Fire Tablet.
Despite its awkward design, the SZBOX S9 might be useful in professional settings that require short bursts of mobile computing—the mini PC spends most of its time at a desk or in a rolling cart, and you occasionally unplug it when you need to go wire-free. It could be the brains of a mobile audio recording rig, too, and even in a home server or HTPC environment where the PC never enjoys any “mobile” usage, the SZBOX S9’s integrated battery could stand in for an uninterruptible power supply.
As for whether I’ll be buying this hybrid tablet mini PC monstrosity—hell nah. There are dozens of remote desktop solutions for Windows and Linux. I can already tunnel into my mini PC from my iPad, my laptop, and even my phone, so why would I want to carry around a PC or stress over its tiny battery? I could see myself using something like the SZBOX S9 in a portable film or audio rig, but at that point, I’d probably just buy a Mac Mini, a custom 1U rack mount, and a portable monitor.
SZBOX is selling its hybrid tablet mini PC for $341 at Amazon (though the listing is “out of stock” at the time of publication). It’s not a bad price for a mini PC with an integrated screen and a battery, but if you’re just looking for a regular ol’ Intel N200 mini PC, there are plenty of cheaper options from brands like Beelink.
Source: TechRadar
