IDF Spring 2007: trendy PCs get $1m prize

Amid the avalanche of new technologies revealed today on day one of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing, one of the more tangible announcements - at least for everyday consumers - was of the prize-winners in the firm's Million-Dollar PC Design Challenge .

Top prize of up to $300,000 (£151,000) to help with mass production and up to $400,000 (£201,000) for "co-marketing and promotional activities with Intel" went to Korea's TriGem Computer for its Black Crystal Home Theater PC, which is based on an Intel Viiv Core 2 Duo processor.

Grey no more

The award recognises the concept PC's "mix of style, acoustics, functionality and features for digital home entertainment" - in other words, it's as far as TriGem could get from a typical grey box.

Eric Kim, an Intel vice president explained the company's thinking in encouraging small computer builders with financial incentives: "Intel continues to evolve PC technology, making PCs ever more powerful and energy efficient, and we hope contests like this inspire others in the industry to match our aggressive pace of innovation."

While the competition is sure to provide a huge boost for the Korean winner, Intel clearly intends to use the concept of good-looking computers as a spur for other manufacturers, which - of course - will likely use its chips in future designs.