The Chromebit HDMI stick, which is basically a Chrome OS-based tiny computer on a stick, has finally launched. It costs $85 and it was developed by two tech industry giants – Google and ASUS.
It weights 75 grams, that is 2.6 ounces, and you can stick the Chromebit into any HDMI port – you can hook it to a large TV screen, or the average computer monitor. Regardless of what you choose, it just needs to have an HDMI port. It has 16 gigs of internal storage – slow and cheap eMMC storage, however; and 2 gigs of RAM.
In more than one way, it resembles the old Chromecast OS on a stick. Yet, the Chromebit is larger and bulkier. It ships with its very own charger, and it has a built-in USB port, unlike the old Chromecast.
You can find it in two colours – Tangerine Orange and Cacao Black. Yet, I don’t find a motive for picking colours for this kind of product. It will most certainly disappear behind your screen. Considering this, I don’t even understand why there’s a bright orange model.
The USB port is a great addition. Owners can pair the stick with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. You can also hook wired peripherals to the Chromebit. Given that USB hubs exist, owners could very well connect multiple devices to it.
It’s best used in the edu district – read, schools; call centers and enterprises that require web based apps for their day-to-day work. The Chromebit can very well turn your living room into a tight media center as well. Also, considering that it can turn any screen into a modern app boutique, hotels and stores can take full advantage of the Chromebit HDMI stick.
Don’t expect a power-house. Its quad-core Rockchip SoC, which is the life-line of the stick, isn’t designed with performance in mind. It is aimed at outputting a reliable and easy to get into experience.
Chromebit will be available in the U.S. at Fry’s, Amazon and Newegg. Quite interesting, Best Buy, which is Google’s old Chrome OS buddy, isn’t part of the list of vendors – at least, for the moment.
The Chromebit HDMI stick will be available in the UK, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain and Taiwan also.
Google is constantly finding new ways to alleviate the burden of not having a PC. With the Work and Education service, customers can opt it for the new single-app kiosk mode for $24 a year, per user.
Yet, Google for Work and Education is only available in the U.S. and Canada.
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