A new startup called Stella Mira is bringing yet another mini PC to the market. The Stella Mira Pocket Console is a tiny computer that’s about the size of a USB thumb drive.
The Pocket Console has 1GB of RAM, and an Alwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 processor. It runs Google Android 4.0 out of the box, but it can also run Ubuntu, Fedora, and other Linux-based operating systems.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because the device has the same processor as the MK802, Mini X, and Mele A1000, which can all run Android or Ubuntu equally well.
Stella Mira is selling the Pocket Console through an eBay store, where you can place an order for $130 — but order with caution.
Stella Mira’s eBay store currently has no user feedback, and the company notes that all orders placed through August 6th will be shipped starting August 27th. So it could be a month or more before you actually receive the Pocket Console.
The good news is that the press pictures show a device with a microSD card slot and 3 USB ports. According to one photo, it may even have a tiny heat sink which should prevent the device from overheating.
Here’s a run down of the little computer’s specs:
- Allwiner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 CPU
- Mali 400 graphics
- Android 4.0.3 software (with Android 4.1 update on the way)
- 1GB DDR3 memory
- 8GB of storage or more (see below)
- 802.11b/g/n WiFi
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Optional 3G
- microSD card slot
- 3 USB 2.0 ports
- 1 micro USB port
- 1 HDMI port
While the base model has 8GB of storage, Stella Mira will also offer 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB models with prices ranging from $150 to $250. There will also be a 3G model with 16GB of storage for $200.
Preloaded software is said to include the Google Play Store, Netflix, Hulu Plus, OnLive, Pandora, XBMC, and Plex, and the device comes with root access enabled.
That all sounds nice — but the pre-release builds of XBMC currently available for Android don’t actually run very well on devices with the Allwinner A10 chipset yet. It seems like a bad idea to bake that software into the operating system instead of waiting for a better build to come along.
Stella Mira also sells a $50 docking station called the Stella Mira Pocket Dock — but the company doesn’t provide any details about what exactly the docking station is good for.
via Miniand forum
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5 Comments on "Stella Mira Pocket Console: Yet another Android 4.0 Mini PC"
not impressed.
1. The software/applications listed is the result of loading ANY Linux distro and not a specific function of that particular product.
2. The picture on their site says ‘Precisely Engineered’ yet shows the heat sink was not installed with care, it is not straight, it is twisted slightly off center.
3. It is the most expensive Allwinner out there.
4. The long lead time means they take orders, and then place an order for manufacture. In effect, it is hardware vaporware at this point except for some prototypes.
At the price they are asking, they could buy off-the-shelf units from other suppliers, put a new sticker on them, and sell them as their own.
had an idea. Maybe we will be able to rip mali400 linux drivers from these devices to use on mk802?
Sounds like a good idea on the surface. I wonder if all of the vendors are using the same Android & Linux builds? As I read the various forums for the various vendors, they all suggest downloading the images from the same sites as everyone else.
Getting hardware decoding of video would be great. Everyone (including me) wants to use these as decent HD movie players.
This sounds like a promising little device and a step in the right direction. I was a little put off though by all the hocum at their eBay store about it “crossing the boundry between creation and consumption” (don’t Twinkies do that?). Also, maybe they shouldn’t use the words “Sience Fiction” so prominently at their site until it proves not to be vaporware.