During IDF 2012 Intel showcased what they call the "Next Unit of Computing," a fully featured compute unit cramped up on a 4x4-inch motherboard.

The platform includes the aforementioned 4x4-inch motherboard with integrated Core i3 CPU on a 7-series chipset, two SO-DIMM memory slots, mini-PCIe slot, mSATA slot, Ethernet, two HDMI outputs, and three USB ports. The platform is usually powered by an external AC/DC adapter but also has a two-pin header for an optional internal PSU.

Unfortunately, since 4x4-inch is not a standard form factor, at least not yet, Intel had to order a special chassis to represent the reference platform.

Of course, Core i3 and those features come at a price and such a platform, including chassis and power supply, is apparently aiming for a US $399 price.  That does not even include the OS or mSATA SSD for system and storage. The Next Unit of Computing platform is expected to show up later this year.

Anandtech.com had a chance to check out the new platform up close and you can find the rest of the pictures here.