Israeli compact computing specialist CompuLab has announced a new entry in its Fit-PC family, an ultra-small fanless machine based around low-power AMD APUs dubbed the Fitlet.
Styled 'fitlet' by the company but here referred to as Fitlet for clarity, CompuLab's latest machine is to launch in a trio of models. An entry-level Fitlet-B features a dual-core 1GHZ AMD E1 Micro-6200T accelerated processing unit (APU) with Radeon R2 graphics; the Fitlet-i upgrades to the beefier AMD A4 Micro-6400T running at 1.6GHz and featuring AMD Radeon R3 graphics. Up to 8GB of RAM is supported, while an mSATA 3.0 port provides internal storage, expandable via USB - two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports - SDXC, or powered eSATA. The upper model also includes dual gigabit Ethernet ports an integrated 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The secret to CompuLab's design is the Function and Connectivity Extension T-Card, or FACET. The Fitlet-B is provided without a FACET card; the Fitlet-i uses a bundled FACET card to provide the additional Ethernet, eSATA and wireless connectivity. A third model, the Fitlet-X, ditches this in favour of a three-port gigabit Ethernet FACET card for a total of four ports. Further FACET cards, available to modify the capabilities of existing Fitlets, are promised for the future.
'Not all fanless PCs are alike,' claimed Irad Stavi, CompuLab's chief product officer, at the unveiling. 'Fitlet is the fruit of 8 years’ experience in fanless PC design, so it solves many usability problems that newcomers to the art of fanless PC design are yet to learn about. Openness and modularity pose major design challenges in a miniature PC. Fitlet was designed from the ground up to address these challenges.'
Measuring just 108mm x 83mm, 24mm in height and weighing 250g, the Fitlet family is certainly compact. Despite this, it is clearly designed to compete with Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) family, while also appealing to makers and tinkerers thanks to the inclusion of RS232, 3.3V TTL UART and SMBUS connectivity along with eight user-configurable general-purpose input-output (GPIO) pins. The company claims that in comparison to its older Fit-PC2 design the new Fitlet-i offers nearly triple the performance, a 30 per cent smaller and easily openable housing, and a 50 per cent lower entry price - along with an increased warranty, at five years.
The Fitlet family is to launch in February this year, priced at $129 for the entry-level Fitlet-B barebones (around £85 excluding taxes.) More details are available on the official product page.
Styled 'fitlet' by the company but here referred to as Fitlet for clarity, CompuLab's latest machine is to launch in a trio of models. An entry-level Fitlet-B features a dual-core 1GHZ AMD E1 Micro-6200T accelerated processing unit (APU) with Radeon R2 graphics; the Fitlet-i upgrades to the beefier AMD A4 Micro-6400T running at 1.6GHz and featuring AMD Radeon R3 graphics. Up to 8GB of RAM is supported, while an mSATA 3.0 port provides internal storage, expandable via USB - two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports - SDXC, or powered eSATA. The upper model also includes dual gigabit Ethernet ports an integrated 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The secret to CompuLab's design is the Function and Connectivity Extension T-Card, or FACET. The Fitlet-B is provided without a FACET card; the Fitlet-i uses a bundled FACET card to provide the additional Ethernet, eSATA and wireless connectivity. A third model, the Fitlet-X, ditches this in favour of a three-port gigabit Ethernet FACET card for a total of four ports. Further FACET cards, available to modify the capabilities of existing Fitlets, are promised for the future.
'Not all fanless PCs are alike,' claimed Irad Stavi, CompuLab's chief product officer, at the unveiling. 'Fitlet is the fruit of 8 years’ experience in fanless PC design, so it solves many usability problems that newcomers to the art of fanless PC design are yet to learn about. Openness and modularity pose major design challenges in a miniature PC. Fitlet was designed from the ground up to address these challenges.'
Measuring just 108mm x 83mm, 24mm in height and weighing 250g, the Fitlet family is certainly compact. Despite this, it is clearly designed to compete with Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) family, while also appealing to makers and tinkerers thanks to the inclusion of RS232, 3.3V TTL UART and SMBUS connectivity along with eight user-configurable general-purpose input-output (GPIO) pins. The company claims that in comparison to its older Fit-PC2 design the new Fitlet-i offers nearly triple the performance, a 30 per cent smaller and easily openable housing, and a 50 per cent lower entry price - along with an increased warranty, at five years.
The Fitlet family is to launch in February this year, priced at $129 for the entry-level Fitlet-B barebones (around £85 excluding taxes.) More details are available on the official product page.
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