Lenovo is getting ready to launch a PC stick that you can plug into a monitor or TV to turn pretty much any display with an HDMI port into a full-fledged PC.
It’s called the Lenovo IdeaCentre Stick 300 and while I haven’t found any pictures of the device yet, it sounds a lot like the Intel Compute Stick I recently reviewed.
Update: Lenovo has officially introduced the IdeaCentre Stick 300. It launches in July for $129.
The Lenovo IdeaCentre Stick 300 is described as and “ultra-portable entry-level PC with Windows OS.
It features 32GB of storage, WiFi and Bluetooth, a microSD card slot, and an HDMI connector. It draws power from a micro USB cable and comes with an HDMI extension cable in case the port on your display is located in an awkward position.
Lenovo says the stick can be used as a basic computer or a media center with support for full HD video. And according to a Bluetooth SIG listing, the device will likely use the same Intel Atom Z3735 Bay Trail processor as the first-gen Intel Compute Stick.
That’s not surprising, since most devices of this type that have launched to date use that processor. But later this year we should start to see the first models with more powerful Intel Core M Broadwell processors.
So this one is the cheap version of Intel’s Compute Stick with the same specs (but comes with Microsoft 365 free trial instead of mcafee)? btw the Stick 300 has a built-in speaker too!
Nope. There’s no speaker. There’s a fan, which is why there’s a vent in the case that might look a bit like a speaker grill.
But it’s written on their website that it has a built-in speaker
Yeah, I’m 99.9% certain that’s a typo. I’ve never heard of a speaker that’s measured in liters. I’m pretty sure the point was to indicate the small size of the product and 0.5L was supposed to be a measurement… although the Stick 300 is actually probably much smaller than 0.5L.
Well it is kinda weird also that you use L for measuring the size of the speaker. lol
And as far as I know, Intel Atom processors don’t produce too much heat that’s why it doesn’t need a cooling fan 🙂
The Intel Compute Stick has fan, as do several other stick PCs. Models that don’t have one have a nasty habit of overheating.
These complete Windows PCs-on-a-stick have to be in the same – less than $50.00 – price range as Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV Stick in order to compete. Can they make a profit ?
This is a stand alone computer. Not a tablet or phone streaming device. It can run full version of windows. Chromecast and Fire TV stick are not even remotly in the same category
Both Google and Amazon subsidize their HDMI streaming devices making them less than $50.00 with a razor thin profit margin. Although Windows TV Sticks are full fledge computers, due to their form factor they are still HDMI stream devices as well.
Let’s face it, it’s form that categorizes a device. Google Chromebooks are glorified browsers but their form allows them to compete with laptops price wise. Being able to do less than a pc hasn’t hurt their sales. But being able to do more than an internet streaming device won’t save Windows TV Sticks if they cost to much.
That’s complete nonsense. Perhaps YOU would want to use this device like that, but there a whole different demographic that would want a portable device for OTG where they can use all of the varied applications that windows provides. i.e. to use is as an actual PC. This is so much more than a streaming stick, which is why these devices can and do very well at commanding higher prices.
What are you smoking?