Intel releases HDMI stick that runs Windows 8.1 ($149)

I don't understand why the Linux version is a $60 discount when Microsoft have been giving away Windows 8.1 with Bing for free on low powered devices like this.

Mr.Mike said:
Hopefully this is powerful enough to stream video and audio. I was just thinking about setting up an old laptop or something as a htpc for my parents. But this would be perfect.

Weird that Intel is selling actual consumer products now. I thought they only did parts?
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Bay Trail will playback a 40mbps 1080p h.264 video without breaking a sweat.
 
brain_stew said:
I don't understand why the Linux version is a $60 discount when Microsoft have been giving away Windows 8.1 with Bing for free on low powered devices like this.
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That's what is confusing me, too. If I remember correctly, the announcement was for devices with 8 inch displays or smaller though. Since this has no display, maybe it doesn't qualify?
 
brain_stew said:
I don't understand why the Linux version is a $60 discount when Microsoft have been giving away Windows 8.1 with Bing for free on low powered devices like this.
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The linux version has only got half the RAM, and only 8GB of internal storage.
 
I feel like this is one of those things that seems super gimmicky until you buy it then you realize you can't live without it.

I really want one
 
It's just bay trail, so why wouldn't you get a tablet with HDMI out for less? If you wanted you could Velcro it to the back of your TV and use it like a HDMI stick, but with the benefit of also having a battery and screen for portable use

Also seems quite chunky to be sticking out for a HDMI socket. Should have a right angled HDMI plug so it can sit flush with a TV
 
TSM said:
Make sure anyone that buys this uses an HDMI extension cable to connect it or you will most likely damage your HDMI input over time. They input isn't designed to support anything that heavy.
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It might be okay depending on how much it actually weighs. I'm sure Intel's engineers put some effort into calculating how much force it's exerting on the port and tried to redistribute the weight appropriately.
 
mrklaw said:
It's just bay trail, so why wouldn't you get a tablet with HDMI out for less? If you wanted you could Velcro it to the back of your TV and use it like a HDMI stick, but with the benefit of also having a battery and screen for portable use

Also seems quite chunky to be sticking out for a HDMI socket. Should have a right angled HDMI plug so it can sit flush with a TV
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Tablets are much bigger, this shit fits in a pocket easily.
 
Not bad. Wouldn't mind something similar as a Steam Streamer. That said, if Valve just made a better Steam App with streaming capability, there would be a good amount of products to pick from
 
Occam said:
The linux version has only got half the RAM, and only 8GB of internal storage.
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That makes sense.You're going to want 32GB of onboard storage if you're installing a full desktop OS although Windows 8.1 actually copes surprisingly well with with 1GB of RAM.
 
mrklaw said:
It's just bay trail, so why wouldn't you get a tablet with HDMI out for less? If you wanted you could Velcro it to the back of your TV and use it like a HDMI stick, but with the benefit of also having a battery and screen for portable use

Also seems quite chunky to be sticking out for a HDMI socket. Should have a right angled HDMI plug so it can sit flush with a TV
Click to expand...

one of the problem with the very cheap hp stream/linx/other tablets that run Windows is the fact they use mini OTG and in most cases they may have issues with trying to charge and run an external usb device at the same time, not great if you want a device that is 24/7 operational.
 
This looks really cool, and would be great for portability, but if I were to get a windows solution for my television I might as well just get a htpc for a little more money but a lot more power.
 
TheSlySoul said:
I doubt it will come with built in BT, but I would love to eat crow.
My Lenovo Q doesn't even have built in BT. Luckily a dongle is only $10.
Probably has built-in WIFI though.
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My £60 Linx 7 Windows 8.1 tablet has built in Bluetooth. It would be mind numbily stupid to leave it out.
 
I could have sworn someone posted about this in regards to getting more power tech into current gen consoles.If only Intel wasn't so picky about their yields we could have have two quad core atom CPUs in the PS4.
 
TheSlySoul said:
I doubt it will come with built in BT, but I would love to eat crow.
My Lenovo Q doesn't even have built in BT. Luckily a dongle is only $10.
Probably has built-in WIFI though.
Click to expand...

Fantastical said:
You can always use a bluetooth dongle.
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Well it does come with BlueTooth included

Along its edges, the Compute Stick is outfitted with a power button, a full-sized USB port, the aforementioned Micro-USB port, and a microSD slot for extra storage. 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are part of the package—as is an HDMI extender, we're told.
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and

For Consumers
A solution with plenty of storage and performance needed for light productivity, social networking, web browsing, and streaming media, such as Netflix*, Hulu*, or games.
Click to expand...

Seems ideal for streaming games from emulators or even maybe Steam
 
This looks very awesome for Steam streaming. I'm wondering if Intel will eventually make a push to get this design built into future TVs? I would definitely welcome something like this as my TV OS.
 
R10Neymarfan said:
I could have sworn someone posted about this in regards to getting more power tech into current gen consoles.If only Intel wasn't so picky about their yields we could have have two quad core atom CPUs in the PS4.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. The APU design is something that Sony and Microsoft both wanted for cost savings and some of the tricks that are possible when everything is on the same die, and going with Intel would mean that's not an option any more.
 
brain_stew said:
My £60 Linx 7 Windows 8.1 tablet has built in Bluetooth. It would be mind numbily stupid to leave it out.
Click to expand...
Oh, my Gamestick has both and I got it for $17 dollars. Amazon Stick has it and it is $39.
I assume it isn't that expensive since it only costs $10 to buy an external one. I just know many companies leave it out.

Caesar III said:
It has bt build in ;)
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Good to hear, the press release only mentions WIFI.

HUELEN10 said:
LAG
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Although I could see it working if you plan to stream content since lag does not matter too much. I plan to plug my Chromecast into my X1 just to see how it works.
 
I'm new be nice said:
This looks really cool, and would be great for portability, but if I were to get a windows solution for my television I might as well just get a htpc for a little more money but a lot more power.
Click to expand...

For a HTPC I really don't know what "extra power" is actually going to afford you. The media decode engine in Bay Trail is just as good as you'd find in a high end GPU. Unless you want to play modern games natively, you're not going to notice much difference between this and far more expensive machines. Size, noise, and power draw are all important attributes for a HTPC and this device is best in class for all of them.
 
Ricker said:
My mind is not blown because I dont understand what this does and the use for it...? someone explain it to me in plain everyday words...
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Its literally a computer of a size of a USB and connect it to your TV. And do everything you can on your regular computer on a big screen? Whats so confusing about this lol
 
Ricker said:
My mind is not blown because I dont understand what this does and the use for it...? someone explain it to me in plain everyday words...
Click to expand...

Its a full windows 8.1 device that plugs into your tv`s HDMI port and is a similar form factor to a Chromecast
 
Schrade said:
Hell, just buy the Linux version and install whatever Windows you want on it.
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I'd rather buy the Windows version and install a decent OS myself, if the hardware differences are true.

Maybe it includes a license key I can trade for a couple paperclips or something.
 
Ricker said:
My mind is not blown because I dont understand what this does and the use for it...? someone explain it to me in plain everyday words...
Click to expand...

It's a tiny fully functional, completely silent and reasonably fast Windows 8.1 PC for $150. It is as useful or as useless as you want it to be.
 
Ricker said:
My mind is not blown because I dont understand what this does and the use for it...? someone explain it to me in plain everyday words...
Click to expand...
my grandpa is using an old Atom PC for his daily pc thingies and it's a mini tower the size of ~ 3 DVD drives in height but a bit deeper.

This stick is more powerful than said pc and fits behind your TV in just an HDMI slot. It only needs to connect to one of the TVs USB as a power supply and you are good to use it as whatever... surfing, document writing in (MS) office, gaming, video streaming. It can run a full fledged Windows. You only need to connect mouse and keyboard somehow.

edit: you could even plug this in your HDMI supporting PC monitor to use it as a secondary PC for office work for example. To have a strict separation between gaming/surfing and working/office.
Your office PC can be taken with you that way because it's only as big as an (old) USB Stick
 
If it has bluetooth its pretty sick. I guess you could just put a dongle in the usb...

So yeah, pretty cool!
 
Looks big I don't think I could fit it without removing other cables from the side of my tv but I think it could work with a extension cable.
 
Oh, I just realized it doesn't have an ethernet port. What a shame. Was thinking about getting one and using it as an extremely energy-efficient desktop PC. But lack of ethernet kills it.
 
MTMBStudios said:
This seems really cool. If it can run big picture okay it could be good as a streaming / low spec game steam stick.
Click to expand...

Big Picture Steam and in home steaming work fine on Baytrail. Any older PC games up to and including Half Life 2 run comfortably on the platform as well.
 
Occam said:
Oh, I just realized it doesn't have an ethernet port. What a shame. Was thinking abouy getting one and using it as an extremely energy-efficient desktop PC. But lack of ethernet kills it.
Click to expand...

USB to Ethernet?? You won't manage gigabit speeds but 100mbps Ethernet should be fine.
 
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