Check out Google's tiny new computer-on-a-stick

Advertisement

Asus Chromebit

Matt Weinberger

The Asus Chromebit, announced by Google today, packs a lot of computing power into a little itty bitty form factor and a sub-$100 price point: Plug this stick into any display with an HDMI port, like most big-screen TVs nowadays have, and suddenly you have a Google Chrome desktop at your disposal.

Advertisement

It has uses limited only by your imagination. Like:

  • Upgrade an existing PC by plugging this into the monitor.
  • Use it for art projects or to build interactive displays using cheap TVs.
  • Google cites the example of a retail store that can use it to manage all of their digital signs, changing a sale on shorts to a sale on umbrellas instantly once it starts to rain.

It has a swivel head so it'll fit into more nooks and crannies, and you can use it with Bluetooth mice and keyboards. It uses a super-small ARM processor of the kind you normally find in a cell phone, so it doesn't really heat up. It has 2GB of memory and 16GB of storage, like most other Google Chrome devices. It even comes in multiple colors, for the style-conscious.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

The big caveat, depending on how you use it, is that it uses Google's Chrome OS, which is basically just a web browser. So while it'll run apps like Spotify, Netflix, and Microsoft Office 365 over the web, and will soon run some Android apps too, you won't be playing Call of Duty on it any time soon.

The whole computer-on-a-stick thing has been done before, but never really well. The Dell Wyse Cloud Connect is a $129 Android stick that does roughly the same thing, but it's explicitly for business users and unavailable on the direct market. Similarly, the Dell Cast is an Android stick that costs only $80, but will only work in conjunction with a Dell tablet - it's more more Chromecast than Chromebit.

Advertisement

Intel's soon-to-arrive $149 Compute Stick is going to be the most direct competitor to Chromebits, running Windows 8.1. Google's pitch has always been that the browser-based Chrome OS devices is the better, faster and simpler for low-horsepower computers like these sticks, and Windows can't keep up. Not to mention that the Asus Chromebit will be at least (they haven't announced final pricing yet) $50 cheaper.

Either way, the squeeze is on. Whoever can do more computing with less computer at the cheaper price point is poised to win this brewing tiny device war, and the Asus Chromebit is, at the very least, a shot across Microsoft's bow.

NOW WATCH: It's dangerously easy to record Snapchats without the other person knowing