Looks like the PC-on-a-stick field is about to get hotter with the announcement of Lenovo’s Ideacentre 300. The concept is similar to Intel’s Compute Stick, which was released in April this year. Lenovo’s product is slated for a July release at just a meagre $129, which is a $20 lower than Intel’s Compute Stick.
You can use the device, via an HDMI port that you can connect to a TV or a monitor, ultimately turning your display into a full-fledged Windows 8.1 computer.
The Ideacentre 300 will sport an Intel Atom chipset clocked at 1.3GHz. There is 2GB of RAM accompanying it along with 32GB of onboard storage, with an option to extend that using a microSD card slot.
Connectivity options include 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. There will also be a USB port in case you need to plug an extra peripheral, like maybe a wireless receiver for your keyboard and mouse that allows for greater content interaction.
A spec-wise comparison revealed that the Ideacentre and Intel Compute Stick don’t have much of a difference. The main differential factors are the pricing and design concepts.
You might be wondering how Lenovo managed to keep the price jaw-dropping low. If you’re thinking bloatware, think again. Because Lenovo had promised not to attempt boosting margins from pre0loaded software after the Superfish fiasco last year.
Though PC sticks can’t replace traditional PCs for now, it’s interesting to watch how we’ve reached a point in tech manufacturing where we attempt making everything as compact as possible. We’ve seen displays and bulky phones shrink into smartphones and All-In-Ones providing a lighter alternative to erstwhile PCs.
Stick PCs are useful for streaming video on a TV or adding basic PC functionality to them. The $130 price tag too will hopefully push PC sticks into living rooms at a pace faster than that taken by previous coputers to get in.
