Intel Compute Stick, world's smallest PC, will cost $150 with Windows, $110 with Linux

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2906...ill-cost-150-with-windows-110-with-linux.html



John.

 

I was reading about this when it was announced and had planned to get one when they became available. Sold out, too bad ...

I might have given you reputation points for posting this if you avatar wasn't so creepy.

 

As always, there are cheaper chinese clones available. While I generally like the idea, I believe such devices might put too much stress on HDMI port when used without extender.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2906...ill-cost-150-with-windows-110-with-linux.html

" The stick-sized computer is available from Newegg with Windows 8.1 on board. If you’re the type that always spells “Microsoft” with a dollar sign, Newegg is also selling the Linux version for $110. Liliputing reports that it comes with Ubuntu 14.04. The price for the Linux Compute Stick was supposed to be $89, but we’ve yet to see it anywhere for that cheap.

Regardless of operating system, the Compute Stick comes with an Intel Atom quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. It plugs directly into a monitor or TV via HDMI, and is powered through a Micro USB jack on the side of the stick. There’s also a full-sized USB port, and Bluetooth 4.0 for connecting a mouse and keyboard.

Intel originally planned to ship the Compute Stick in March, but Newegg is listing a release date of April 24 for both models. A similar dongle with BeeLink branding is already available, but from more obscure retailers."

For $150 that's overpriced IMHO considering you can buy full laptops with that config for under $200 with LCD, keyboard, and two USB 2.0 ports. In any case, good to see it with a Linux option, and more in tune for a Linux distro with that hardware.

 

Pretty cool. Might be a little overpriced, but it is very easily hidden behind your TV.

 

Well, as is the case with laptops, you're paying for how small this is, not just the specs.

Interesting concept.

 

Yeah, these are getting smaller and smaller...........

 

If only it was a size of nano usb devices...

 

Those things are small enough for being carried in pockets. Maybe we can truly get rid of handbags or suitcases when going to hotels now?

An alternative that gets closer to Starlight5's wish would be using a HDMI dongle to turn the hotel TV into a remote display for your phone. (If it's Android/Ubuntu desktop apps would be available.) We carry a phone everyday anyway.

Considering the cheap Chinese clones usually don't have legal Windows licences, the price appear to be about the same. Or am I missing some cheap deals here?

 

Why do I like this? Mostly because of what will be possible with it in a future gen platform.

This is great for today (and already far surpasses what the Raspberry PI offers me; Windows).

The price will always seem too much for the amount of hardware in your hand. But as mentioned, the extremely small size is what makes it so (relatively) pricey in the first place.

Intel Inside is what would sell me on this (along with full Win x86/x64 and 8GB+ RAM support).

Can't wait for a thorough review by a respected website on this first iteration by Intel.

 

Speaking of X86, is it possible to run Windows X86 on X86 Android phones?

 

Google made something like this call Chromebit for Chrome OS... However somnething like this more of what I would want

 

Intriguing as it is, the Intel Atom would make me say pass.

 

When this is based on the Skylake platform Atom...

 

... it will likely still lag behind almost anything, tilleroftheearth - because Atom equals bottom-line performance in Intel marketing plan. It'd be fantastic if Intel introduces competitive with current-gen i3s CPU for TV sticks (& mobiles!), but I highly doubt it.

 

I don't know. My Atom based Asus T100TA is remarkably smooth when running basic tasks, web browsing, videos, etc. For something that fits on a USB stick, it's pretty impressive. Only issue is input. It needs a Logitech receiver built-in or something.

 

No, current Atom performance is more than satisfactory. Just not the one in this specific product.

I agree that my T100TA based on the Atom Z3775 is remarkable too.

But that processor is almost twice as powerful as what this 'stick' computer has right now.

A full Skylake based Atom platform will be what most here will be saying as 'enough' performance for 99% of the population... But I'd be surprised if we saw that before the end of the year.

 

I have one of those Asus netbooks X205TA I got for $150 with the Z3735F and it's not quite as responsive as the Z3775 in the T100, but it's pretty close. I just like the form factor better of the X205TA, it's light, small, and has permanent keyboard. Just upgrade it to offer an mSATA slot and 4GB RAM, and I'm golden. But I digress.

This little stick seems it will have its usefulness. With Win 10 supporting Raspberry Pi 2, we can assume there will be a very light weight version also for these x86 low voltage/low performance/low storage devices.

 

It could potentially make an interesting HTPC, but unfortunately its greatest strength (Windows x86 means codecs which in turn means support for unlimited formats, both present and future) is also its greatest weakness (that future-proofing requires CPU-based software rendering, which I doubt the Z3735F can handle).

Perhaps with a few more annual iterations/die shrinks/new architectures...