Intel has exhibited the world’s smallest computer in the form of a dongle at CES 2015 that can plug into a HDMI port on your TV and give you full PC experience.
The stick comes pre-loaded with Windows 8.1 or Linux and is capable of doing everything that a desktop does.
The dongle Intel Compute Stick has an impressive spec sheet. It features 1.33 GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM, and 32GB SSD storage. It features a USB 3.0 and microSD slot for storage expansion. It can connect to the internet through WiFi and to other devices through Bluetooth.
This tiny PC is available in the US at this point in time for $149 with Windows 8.1 and $89 with Linux loaded on it.
The dongle PC can find takers at homes and small businesses who would prefer to do their daily computing activities in the comfort of their living rooms. It can also double up for streaming videos and operations through thin clients at offices.
This HDMI stick is similar to the chromecast device but is far advanced and feature-filled than the latter. While Chromecast requires a PC or a mobile to do the computing activities, Intel Compute Stick can work completely on its own. The user can connect a Bluetooth mouse or a keyboard to do almost everything on the TV. In fact, most TVs today are built in with technologies like Miracast that can stream directly from mobile phones onto the TV.
Intel has provided the ground for a new type of computing device that can penetrate the market to take on desktop machines. It will be interesting to see over the next few months how the device picks up on demand and over the next few quarters how it can start creating a market for its own (of course at the expense of desktops in my opinion).
via wsj
