PC with a Cherry on Top

Ken on July 21st, 2008

Replacing your old PC with an energy-efficient, easy-maintenance one could become a new trend. The CherryPal, LLC is soon to ship a green personal computer that can run at only 2 watts of power – a 98 percent reduction in power consumption and CO2 emissions. It’s about the size of a paperback book packed 80 percent fewer components than a traditional PC, therefore, it requires fewer resources to produce and also ends with less waste in our landfills.

The CherryPal™ C100 desktop features open-source software including the Firefox browser and a Linux OS. It also comes pre-installed with the OpenOffice.org office productivity suite, iTunes, a media player, and an instant messenger that supports all common IM programs. They said more programs will be added as it goes along.

One of the most significant difference between a CherryPal and a tradictional computer is the “cloud computing” system, meaning most of your applications are kept on the Internet and managed by CherryPal. They take care of all the technical details, like upgrading or installing software, keeping the system free of viruses, and dealing with the operating system.

I almost laughed out loud when I first noticed the 400 MHz processor. But, CherryPal CEO Max Seybold boldly claims the PC has the speed to surpass an average Vista or Mac OS X machine. He also added the unit boots in 20 seconds and can fly through just about any applications thanks to the tri-core Freescale design that features a graphics cruncher. It certainly sounds intriguing, but I remain skeptical at this time. You can pre-order the computer at $249 online. Units will begin shipping in late July or early August. [CherryPal]

Tech specs of the CherryPal C100:

Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800 MIPS (400 MHz) of processing
256 MB of DDR2 DRAM
4GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive (additional 50 GB of Internet storage for free)
WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Two USB 2.0 ports
One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
One VGA DB-15 display out jack
Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
9vDC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
Weighs 10 ounces
1.3” high, 5.8” x 4.2” wide