Iridium AVPC

Indie Magazine (November '03)

The All-In-One PC

Iridium’s latest device can do a lot more than a regular PC, and it takes up less room while doing it too. Ross Farmer spoke to Iridium MD Nick Boardman to learn more about the AVPC, and find out how come it’s so darned cheap.

It’s a PC, but when fully compacted it’s barely any larger than your average TFT monitor. Its compact design betrays the use of some notebook technology so the look may not be too surprising, but when you learn about some of the extra things this PC can do, you’ll start to get a bit more interested.

The AVPC from Iridium has dimensions of 483mm (w) x 118mm (d) x 361mm (h). It is powered by a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz processor, has an 80GH HDD, 32MB of video RAM, a 15” XGA TFT and a DVD/CDRW drive. Small, compact and fairly attractive, you can see that Iridium is trying to sell the AVPC as an aesthetically pleasing piece of fashionable furniture as much as a PC, but that’s not all. You see, the AVPC can also be used to watch cable TV and to listen to FM radio, or CDs or MP3s. It even has a non-PC ‘quick start’ mode whereby these functions can be activated outside Windows, using a remote control. Iridium has basically created a compact all-in-one hone entertainment, Internet and computing system, and the best bit is that it carries a retail price of just £850 (£765 trade price).

Its flat fold-away keyboard means it takes up little more room than a notebook when stored, but it has plenty of ports and a proper TFT monitor. So, what is it? Is it a notebook replacement? Is it a PC? Is it a home entertainment device? “ With all the functionality the AVPC offers, it is competing with quite a few different products simultaneously”, admits Nick Boardman, Managing Director of Iridium. “Whilst PCs and notebooks are the traditional competitors, we will also be up against the new emerging market of TFT TVs with integrated DVD players”.

When computers collide.

So where did the idea for this jack of all trades device come from? “Desktop-replacement notebooks are becoming increasingly powerful and feature rich”, explains Nick “with our latest release sporting a P4 3GHz processor, 17” widescreen TFT panel, DVD re-writer and five speaker sound system. The inclusion of all these features makes for a physically larger notebook.

“However, the desktop PC is getting smaller, with the trend being to offer TFT monitors with small for factor designs incorporating notebook RAM, hard drives and optical devices. Both markets are heading in the same direction, albeit from two different starting points. The AVPC is out take on what the digital home PC of the future may look like”.

Clearly the AVPC is a new proposition for consumers, and therefore also for retailers. The notebook-inspired technology that makes it so compact means that it’s not a fully upgradeable as a PC (although as Nick points out: “CPU, RAM, HDD and the optical device are all upgradeable. There is also a PC card slot for adding a wireless card”), so we don’t think this is something you should be targeting at regular PC owners – this is an opportunity to snag a more casual audience. This is reflected in the way Iridium is marketing the AVPC, as Nick explains: “Whilst we will market the AVPC in the traditional PC press, we are also seeking coverage in lifestyle and AV publications. However, as with all pioneering technologies, you need to see to believe. To this end we are working on producing posters, screen surrounds etc to enable dealers with shop fronts to gain maximum exposure. We are not looking for mass representation by the major PC retailers, we prefer to work with the traditional dealer who can add value and a higher level of customer support”.

Target markets

“Iridium has a strategy to target 11-18 year olds, as the AVPC solves the problem of trying to squeeze a TV, PC and hi-fi system into ever-shrinking bedrooms”, explains Nick. “Other target markets are University students living on campus and the 20-35 year old FHM/Maxim readers who are early adopters of technology with high disposable incomes, looking for ‘cool’ lifestyle products”.

Regardless of the fact that Iridium is trying to push into other markets with the AVPC, and is targeting the early adopter crowd, we at Indie are still surprised by the price of the machine. “Compare to other PCs of similar functionality, the AVPC does appear to be priced too cheaply”, agrees Nick. “However, given our key market, price is a very important factor of the whole proposition.

“My hope for the AVPC is that it will develop new markets. I would like to see it replace the portable TV in the kitchen and be used by housewives searching for new recipes, and online shopping. Also, wherever space is at a premium, such as caravans, yachts and maybe even hotel rooms.

“The traditional model for selling PCs is CPU speed, hard drive size and system memory size etc. Our AVPC provides an opportunity to escape from this treadmill and really excite the customer by providing tangible reasons to buy a new or more likely, an additional system for their home”,

Iridium is a division of Rock Group PLC and is a trade only supplier. Retailers with an interest in the AVPC can get in touch with the company by telephone on 08702 202220, or can contact Iridium’s distributors Hugh Symons, Northamber, Spire or Target directly.