by Anna Filatova
04/15/2002 | 10:11 AM
VIA made an official press-release where they reported proudly that "VIA received growing industry support for its ultra compact Mini-ITX form factor". Then the press-release lists the mainboard makers (Biostar and Jetway), which will manufacture their products in this new form-factor, and the case makers such as: Yeong Yang Technology Group Co., Ltd., Chenbro Group, Casetek, Morex Information Ent., Co., Ltd. and G-Alantic Enterprise Co., Ltd., where these mainboard can be actually installed.
Of course, this is all very exciting, and the mainboards in Mini-ITX form-factor are really curious products, however, I have a few comments to make, and they may overshadow the joyful tone of the press-release. Firstly, Biostar and Jetway are not the most successful mainboard manufacturers in the today’s market (the first one is even suffering from some financial problems at present). Secondly, the above listed case manufacturers do not belong to the world’s famous brand names (though I might be mistaken here). And thirdly, this form-factor was announced in the beginning of last November (see this news story), and the company could have done much more to win the manufacturers’ hearts since then.