San Francisco: Google unveiled a whole new kind of computer on a stick — a dongle that plugs into any HDMI-equipped display and turns it into a PC.
Called the Chromebit, which costs under $100, it works as a full computer that runs on Chrome OS and plugs right into your TV, according to an industry publication.
The Google Chromebit is actually not a new idea, and is simply an inexpensive version of Intel's $150 HDMI stick, launched in January this year and runs Windows.
The Chromebit comes with a Rockchip RK3288 (with quad-core Mali 760 graphics), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of solid state storage, 2x2 dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a single full-size USB 2.0 port on one end.
"It won’t be the most powerful PC you could plug into a TV, but it shouldn’t be too bad for the browser-based OS," reported Gizmodo. "Google also expects it to make quite a splash with small businesses and third-world countries due to price and easy manageability."
The Chromebit won't probably hit retail stores until summer, the report added. Other computer companies are also believed to be building dongle-PCs as well, a Google product manager was quoted as saying.
Intel's version
Intel introduced its $150 HDMI stick in January this year, which turns any TV into a Windows desktop.
The Intel Compute Stick, an HDMI dongle that houses a full desktop computer, includes a quad-core 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of solid state storage.
It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and both a full-size USB port and a microSD card slot for expandability.
The Intel stick is aimed at homes, small businesses, schools, and the like who want to roll out super cheap computers.
Industry experts say users can already buy one of these tiny dongle-PCs from Chinese resellers now, though it probably won't come with Windows on board.
Google Chromebooks
On Tuesday, Google unveiled its cheapest Chromebook laptops yet, two versions priced at $149 aimed at undercutting Microsoft's Windows franchise and gaining an even stronger hold in school and overseas markets.
Google began working with various PC manufacturers to design the lightweight laptops in 2011. The newest versions are made by Hisense and Haier. Hisense's Chromebook can be ordered beginning Tuesday at Walmart.com and Haier's version can be bought at Amazon.com.
Their arrival coincides with Microsoft's rollout of a lower-priced Surface tablet in a bid to expand its market share.
Unlike most computers, Chromebooks don't have a hard drive. Instead, they function as terminals dependent on an Internet connection to get most work done. Despite those limitations, Chromebooks have been steadily gaining in popularity, particularly in schools.
