Shuttle Computer, a leading designer of small form-factor (SFF) personal computers (PCs), said Thursday it would introduce a very small and quiet Shuttle XPC designed for living rooms during CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany, in March, 2006. The new product may set a new standard for small computers, as Shuttle was the first mainstream builder to intro SFF PCs in 2001.

“We have introduced the world’s first SFF PC five years ago and thus have invented the small form factor. The time to set another milestone has arrived: a new form-factor will help Shuttle to make the new Shuttle XPCs even smaller and even more quiet with special regard to the living room, where Shuttle XPCs can seamlessly be integrated,” said Melanie Liu, marketing chief of Shuttle’s European subsidiary.

Shuttle’s XPC product lineup is pretty broad today. The company ships computers and computer barebones designed for office, home, gaming and living-room usage, trying to offer the best it can. However, all of the chassis that the maker creates – except the Shuttle XPC Media Center M1000 that matches design of consumer electronics equipment – resemble cubes and differ from each others only with size and design. Furthermore, Shuttle’s cubes are larger compared to Apple Mac mini or Aopen’s Cube mini /VoodooPC Idol , which means that customers who are looking forward the smallest PCs may no longer be looking at Shuttle’s offerings.

The inventor of the SFF PC did not unveil any particular details regarding the new form-factor, but said it had plans to attract attention of a lot of new potential customers during the show.

“Our target is an even stronger market position of our Shuttle XPCs in order to open up new target groups and extend market share,” stated Ms. Liu.