ZOTAC recently launched its latest palm-sized mini PC from its ZBOX Nano range, called the ZBOX Nano AQ02 Plus. We’ve been playing around with this nifty device for over a week now, playing all sorts of content on it. Read on to find out how it performed in our real world tests.

The ZBOX Nano AQ02 Plus comes with an AMD APU and features a design similar to most ZBOXes such as the Nano ID68 Plus we reviewed sometime back. Inside the box, the Nano AQ02 Plus comes with a bunch of documentation, the PSU (65w), mains cable, screws, TV/wall mount, mini-S/PDIF dongle and Wi-Fi antenna.

ZOTAC offers a barebones version and a plus version when it comes to the ZBOX nano AQ02. The Plus model we received for a test drive, came with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Neither model comes with an operating system, so you’ll have to get your own.

The Nano AQ02 Plus mini PC also comes with a 2.5 inch drive bay, support for up to 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, DisplayPort and HDMI, a SATA connector and eSATA port, Gigiabit Ethernet, and built-in 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. In addition, the device also comes with four USB 3.0 ports on the back and two USB 2.0 ports on the front. ZOTAC also throws in a 7-in-1 flash card reader with the ZBOX Nano AQ02 Plus.

The system itself is quite compact at 12.7-by-12.7-by-4.5cm and uses a metal chassis with plastic top and base. As is the case with most products from the ZBOX range of devices from ZOTAC, the Nano AQ02 Plus comes with a green LED circle on top that glows when the device is switched on.

Look around the outside and you will find two air vents on the side and a Kensington lock slot on the left. The four legs at the bottom of the device can be removed by unscrewing them, which in turn gives you access to the internal components that can be upgraded. An AMD A8-5545M APU that powers the system is a 19w Richland quad core which runs at 2.7GHz. The GPU built into this chip is a Radeon HD 8510G.

In our benchmarks, we threw all sorts of content at the Nano AQ02 Plu and the device played each and every content with ease. The ZOTAC ZBOX Nano AQ02 Plus is a new benchmark in palm-sized computing. The device offers whisper-quiet noise levels, good energy-efficiency and good AMD Radeon HD graphics.

The ZBOX Nano AQ02 Plus is not a gaming machine. It really is designed to be a system for daily computing use such as web surfing, productivity and media, and in that area it performs really well.

Price: $467

Specifications:
Memory: 1 x 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM slots (Up to 8GB)
Hard Disk: 2.5-inch 500GB 5400RPM HDD
RAM: 4GB DDR3
CPU: AMD A8-5545M (quad-core, 1.7 GHz, 4MB L2)
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 8510G
Display Options: DisplayPort + HDMI
Memory Card Reader: 7-in-1 (SD/SDHC/MMC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/xD)
SATA: 1 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 1 x eSATA
Ethernet: 10/100/1000Mbps
WiFi: Onboard 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 4.0
USB Ports: 4 USB 3.0 ports (on back), 2 USB 2.0 ports (front)
Audio: HDMI audio (bitstream), Optical S/PDIF, Analog output