World’s Smallest USB Mini-PC From Intel Can Run Windows 8.1 or Android, Linux

By: Radu Tyrsina

▪ October 21, 2014 ▪

2 minute read

Intel is silently launching a thumb drive-sized PC that can run Windows 8.1. While miniPCs with Windows aren’t as popular as the MacMini, this has real chances of success, because is just as small as a regular USB.

Can you believe it that with this USB that you see in the above screenshot, you can run Windows 8.1 on any monitor and television set? Available for a price of $110, Intel’s Bay Trail-powered HDMI stick can run Windows 8.1, but also any other Linux distribution or Android, if windows 8.1 isn’t something you’d prefer.

Called Meegopad Windows HDMI TV, this should be treated as an HDMI stick and not a USB one. Or, to put it in other words, it’s a mini PC in the shape of a thumb drive the size of a USB stick. Here are the specs that it comes with:

quad-core 1.83 GHz Intel Atom Z3735F processor with 2 MB cache
16 GB or 32 GB eMMC storage space
1-2 GB of DDR3 RAM
microSD card slot
two micro USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi (802.11n)

Believe it or not, there actually is a power button located on the outer shell. If you want 2 GB instead of 1 GB RAM, you will have to pay $15 more. The 2GB configuration is also slightly more powerful as it features a 32-bit Atom Z3735G processor.

Still, pretty much anybody with a legal copy of Windows 8.1 can make the same with a bootable USB, but I guess that this product is being offered for less tech savvy persons. What’s your take on this?

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