artopz1.com

Artopz Announces Launch Of New Line of Laptop Desk Stations

Artopz LLC, boutique manufacturer of unique HTPC cases and laptop docking stations,
announced today the launch of their newest product, the Foldz Laptop Desk
Station.

Artopz has already made a name for themselves with the elegant and unique
Minitopz Desk Lamp PC and the Eclipz wall mounted HTPC.

The success of these products has lead Artopz Design to expand their
product line and design the elegant yet highly functional new Foldz Laptop
Desk Station, available at www.artopz.com.

“The popularity of our previous products showed us that there’s definitely
a market for computer and laptop products that are attractive, unique, and
practical,” according to Gorm Aaen, CEO of Artopz LLC.

The Foldz Laptop Desk Station comes as a standard piece with all of the
needed cables and brackets needed to quickly install a monitor (VESA
100/75), extra cables and laptop peripherals.

“By combining a monitor stand, a laptop stand and a USB dock into one
structure the Foldz addresses a big gap in the marketplace for consumers
who want to connect their laptop to a desktop monitor, keyboard, mouse
etc. but without the resulting clutter of wires and peripheral devices,”
Gorm Aaen, CEO of Artopz LLC, said.

Because the Foldz Laptop Desk Station is designed to be an attractive
piece of furniture as well as a laptop accessory, it comes available in
piano black and glossy white, with a wide array of colors planned for the
near future.

The various styles of Foldz will be ready to ship in the summer of 2010
and will become available in a number of select retail stores during the
second half of 2010. Artopz is now accepting orders for the Foldz Laptop
Desk Station.

To learn more please contact Artopz directly via their website

http://www.artopz.com

About Artopz, LLC

The San Diego-based company was founded by a small group of dedicated
engineers, computer enthusiasts and artists who share the common vision of
creating radically new and artistically designed computer and laptop
components.

Summer is upon us and here at Artopz we have just finished a little ‘spring cleaning’ which includes a number of changes. The first major change is that we have discontinued the Mediatopz product. It was our first product, but in the unbearable clear light of hindsight, it was too feature rich and thus too complicated and too expensive. It is still a unique product which continues to raise eyebrows! Despite the success of our second product, the Minitopz, we have realized that this product also needed closer scrutiny. We still love the Minitopz here at Artopz, and so do many of our customers, but the market for this device is just so small, it is a niche product after all, that we have not been able sell enough units to where we can bring down the manufacturing cost. Another challenge we had with the Minitopz is that the Mini-ITX computer and graphics capabilities are moving at such a rapid speed that we’re were having a hard time keeping up and to boot the computer components on the Minitopz never had any real margins for us. We have therefore decided to discontinue selling the Minitopz as a finished PC and only sell the Minitopz as a HTPC/PC case to individuals and system builders who want a truly unique PC case for their new office PC or HTPC.  We will, of course, honor all warranties and support for any Minitopz and Mediatopz system we have already delivered.


This brings me to our new baby, the Foldz Laptop Docking Station. The Laptop Docking Station concept came about as we were constantly asked if we had anything for laptops and since laptops now account for more than half of global PC sales we accepted the challenge. The next exiting development we have been monitoring lies within the USB dock area.  The USB dock is basically a USB hub which also includes a VGA port, a LAN port and audio jacks, which enables the user to connect their laptop to ALL their desk devices (monitor, keyboard,mouse etc) with just one USB cable. We were playing with the first USB docks about 2 years ago, but at that time the USB dock graphics capabilities where just too poor. The new USB docks on the market today are getting to a level where they are more than sufficient for most everyday users. We realize that the USB Dock technology will never catch up with the internal laptop graphics capabilities so Gamers, Engineers and Designers will still need to connect the laptop directly to the monitor (via HDMI or other), but even for these folks the USB dock offers something more than the USB hub, by including LAN and audio ports. We have been testing a number of USB docks and found some not so great products and some good ones. We liked the HP USB dock and the new Tritton Xpress Dock. We decided to go for the Tritton Xpress dock which is now included in the Foldz Laptop Desk Station. When you first use a USB dock you might get annoyed that it will not show anything on the monitor before Windows is on. After working with the USB dock in Foldz for a while I quickly got use to this ‘feature’, and I now compensate by using sleep/hibernation more instead of turning the laptop on/off.   We now began the design work to create a product concept which 1. includes a USB dock, 2. docks a ‘standard’ laptop while keeping it ventilated, 3.mounts a standard monitor, 4. has room for wires,cables and USB devices, 5. and includes all this inside a sleek, beautiful, desk mounted structure. After a couple of design iterations and prototypes we finally arrived at the Foldz as our first product based on the Laptop Desk Station concept. We decided to sell the Foldz in a piano black and a glossy white variant, which should appeal to a larger audience. We also decided to continue our tradition to work with interior designers and artists to create custom versions of the Foldz. Actually we designed the Foldz so it could be easily customized and I’m sure we will see some very interesting Foldz designs in the future.


I hope you will enjoy the summer of 2010 and if you think the Foldz Laptop Desk Station would be something for you, please check out the Foldz web page.

/gorm

Whew!  What a week last week!

We finally got the last pieces of the puzzle ready to send out the press release for the new Minitopz desk lamp PC.     The press release went out Friday afternoon..Friday night it hit Engadget and from there the story spread to close to a hundred tech blogs..over just 48 hours!    Poor CR, our PR rep, she was pulling out her hair because the story being told was not really what she was pitching.   Fortunately the majority of blog reviews were positive but there were, not unexpectedly,  tech bloggers who thought the Minitopz was just an “overpriced, artsy fatsy nettop”…hmmm.

Actually the only thing that repeatedly got slammed was the price point of $2300-$2700.    This again was not unexpected , but I’m still a little surprised just how much focus the price point actually received.   The disappointing part is that several ‘tech bloggers’ obviously did not review the Minitopz tech specs and would, directly or indirectly, compare the Minitopz with the standard $300 nettops….I would challenge these dear fellow techies to build or buy a mini-ITX PC with the same specs as the Minitopz for under $1000 (just the 128Gb SSD alone currently sits at around $300 retail) .     I know!…we are still sitting at more than double that , so what’s up?   Well, the ‘case’ of the Minitopz is made from high quality materials, like the the aluminum base, CNC cut from two blocks of air craft grade aluminum (not cheap) or the accent light panel, where we could have used cheap EL sheets but instead developed fiber optic light panels lit with 5mm LEDs (stronger color, longer life…but not cheap), or the the very unique shape of the PC pod, using CNC cut, vacuum formed, polymer shells (not cheap), and an internal  aluminum mounting block/heat sink (not cheap).  Combined these material and technology choices gives you a high quality product, which is very unique (and very quiet)  but still uses standard computer components..all easily accessible (it takes me about 55secs to take out the optical drive and install a new one…and I’ don’t build these things all day!)    Let me put it another way…we are not making a killing on the Minitopz and I actually think you are getting a good value for you money with the Minitopz.  I really do.

Another thing which surprised me about the week end’s flurry of tech blog reviews was that the Minitopz was almost instantly tagged as a ‘Nettop’.    I beg to differ!    Most folks (like Wikipedia) consider a nettop to be a net centric (low cost, low level storage, low performance) desktop pc.     I’m using the Minitopz for office work, email,internet surfing, watching movies and even an occasional game!   With Windows 7 (64 bit…so I’m running on all 4Gig ram cylinders) and most of my programs installed on the lightning fast (and ultra quiet) 128GB SSD, the Minitopz performs better than my 2-year old, high-end,  HP machine at home.  Now, the Minitopz is NOT a gaming machine and not a media/CAD machine…I tried, but had to stick with my bigger office rig for my CAD/CAM work.    I would still argue that the Minitopz would perform admirably for 80% of the PC users out there (Gamers, Engineers and AV designers excluded).

The next few weeks will be interesting indeed.

Happy Holidays!

Gorm

“Minitopz brings vogue and innovation to the home theater and desktop PC experience with highly compact and high performance desk lamp computers.”

(San Diego, CA) – Artopz (”r-tops”), LLC today announced the launch of Minitopz the world’s first desk

lamp computers. The Minitopz desk lamp PC, provides the latest computer technology through exclusive designs, luxury materials, and innovative lighting components. Artopz is ready to ship their newest product, the Minitopz desk lamp PC just in time for the holidays. They are now available in a number of variations for different designs including both standard desktop and upgraded home theater PC versions.

According to Artopz, the new Minitopz desk lamp computers will, in addition to their Eclipz custom made home theater PCs, offer lifestyle and values to discerning consumers that seek high functionality and contemporary design. The company relates that they recognize consumers desire a computer experience that fulfills the latest computer technology needs through highly designed and functional pieces that reflect lifestyle choices.

“The Minitopz desk lamp PC is based on the same innovative Eclipz Pod PC which forms the basis of our custom built Eclipz home theater pc system.  However unlike the more sophisticated Eclipz the Minitopz is a plug-and-play computer which doubles as a beautiful desk lamp. We believe that this effortless dual functionality of the Minitopz will resonate well with those customers who value utilitarian, unique and inspiring pieces in their living space,” stated Gorm Aaen, CEO of Artopz, LLC.

The Minitopz desk lamp PC incorporates state-of-the-art technology including a high performance computer, Blu-ray video, low noise construction, and a low power LED desk lamp. The Minitopz incorporates integration of creative, multifunctional design, ease-of-use functionality and the latest computer technology.

In the first half of 2010 Minitopz desk lamp PC will become available in a number of select retail stores. The Minitopz desk lamp PC starts at $2,250.- (USD), and a number of different variants are currently available for order via Artopz online store.

Examples of the Minitopz collection is available for review via Flickr.com, please visit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artopz/page2/

For more information visit Artopz website online http://www.artopz.com.

About Artopz, LLC

The company consists of a small group of dedicated engineers, computer enthusiast and artists who all

share the common vision of creating radically new and artistically designed computers. The Artopz team

is constantly looking for inspiration and ideas for how to build computers differently, often by adding

additional functionality which is normally not associated with the traditional PC form factors. All of Artopz

computers are designed in such a way that they are easy to customize even to the point where designers

and artists are incorporating the Artopz computer components into completely new and interesting

functional art pieces.

The Minitopz is the second introduction to the marketplace by Artopz.

About Minitopz

The Minitopz consist of a desk stand which is made from two blocks of precision cut, air craft grade,

aluminum fused with an Eclipz Pod PC. The Minitopz includes a number of fiber-optic light panels which

create creative accent lighting controlled by the power state of the computer. Furthermore the Minitopz

includes a LED light panel which is controlled separately, thus turning the Minitopz into an eye-catching

desk lamp.  The computer components used the Minitopz desk lamp PC are all easily accessible, commercially available and high end computer components which makes the Minitopz desk lamp PC easy to repair and upgrade and thus 100% future proof.  Each Minitopz desk lamp PC is hand made in the Artopz facility in San Diego, California, U.S.A.

Company Contact:

Artopz, LLC.

12335 World Trade Drive, Suite 1A

San Diego, CA 92128

info@artopz.com

http://www.artopz.com

(858) 385 9420

Media Contact:

CR Cataunya Ransom, Lead Publicist

(404) 696-4833 Office (678) 768-2813 Mobile

Mosnar Communications, Inc.

http://www.mosnarcommunications.com

postmaster@mosnarcommunications.com

Artopz relaunches it’s website to co-inside with the launch of the their new product, the Minitopz desk lamp PC.

The new site uses a clean white look with easy navigation and access to all relevant information.
The new site also features an online store where customers can purchase Artopz products directly.

The new site uses three domains: www.artopz.com, www.artopz1.com and www.artopz.biz. The plan is to consolidate the site onto one domain at a later time.

Artopz Eclipz was featured on LuxuryLaunches.com: http://www.luxurylaunches.com/gadgets/eclipz_artopzs_home_entertainment_system_is_a_sight_to_behold.php

Artopz was featured on Bornrich.org: http://www.bornrich.org/entry/artopz-eclipz-media-center-blends-technology-with-luxury-design/

Artopz was featured on LustLuxe.com: http://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/electronics/feature-243722.php