Four years after launching a tiny computer-on-a-stick that plugs straight into the HDMI port of a monitor or TV, the Asus VivoStick is getting a slight spec bump.
And when I say slight, I mean the new model still has the disappointing Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor. But the new VivoStick TS10-B174D has twice the memory and storage of the earlier model, and it ships with Windows 10 Pro instead of Home.
That means the new version, which launches in Japan on February 21st, features 4GB of LPDDR-1600 memory and 64GB of eMMC storage.
Other specs are largely unchanged, which means you get a fully functional computer with 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, a headset jack, and an HDMI connector on one end for connecting to a display, plus a micro USB port for connecting a power source.
The whole computer measures about 5.3″ x 1.4″ x 0.65″, making it a bit larger than an Intel Compute Stick. But since Intel has discontinued its own PC-on-a-stick platform, there’s not really much competition in this space anymore.
It’s unclear if Asus will offer the new VivoStick outside of Japan anytime soon.
via AnandTech, Hermitage Akihabara, Kakaku, andÂ
A 64gb Computer Stick might actually be usable. 32gb of storage with Windows is a joke.
For what it’s worth, the 8xxx series Atom chips were not that bad for thin-client tasks. The real problem is that they don’t support SATA, so they must use a slow and unreliable eMMC storage.
These companies don’t take these sticks serious at all. There is a huge market untapped for these. I know I’d buy a couple. The Core M processors are perfect for the job too. I don’t understand why i can buy a used Dell table with a Skylake Core M processor for 99 bucks on ebay and I can’t find a company bold enough to put one of them in a stick “for a decent price”. I recommend those 99 tablets from Dell…put them on a dock and you essentially have the same thing AND you can take it with you.
I’m not that familiar with Dell’s product lines and names.. could you pls. elaborate more on the model name you refer to?
I get that the point of such device is to have almost no footprint but when you can get a celeron Gigabyte Brix with 16 GB RAM and 512 M.2 SSD for just $2 more, it makes absolutely no sense.
Yes, but the BRIX is bigger and noisier, and it doesn’t have Win 10. BTW, I like my old BRIX.
My brother is mounted on the wood frame at the back of the table on which the TV is setting. I almost never hear the fan.
Talk about auto correct fail. Brix, not brother. 😅
What a disappointment.
These should run Windows on ARM on this point. These devices are designed for casual computing, not to run Crysis, and what is the point of having USB 3.0 and 2.0 on it, has Asus ever heard of USB-C?
The level of laziness displayed by Asus and for almost 300 bucks in unbelievable.
WoA would be too expensive since it barely run on high end Snapdragon chips. It would make more sense to ship with N4000 or N4100 celeron chips for the price point.
Retailing at an eye-watering \30,800 ($280 U.S.).
ugh RE: that price – especially considering for the same $280 I purchased a complete Voyo 11.6″ Yoga clone with similar specifications (except Windows 10 Home) including a very good IPS display back in mid-1996. I was using it just today to stream a college baseball game via Hulu.
I’ve never understood all the whining here and elsewhere about the ‘disappointing’ performance of these Atom chips… folks seem to expect baseline Core i3 or i5 performance from a $20 chip. I’ve used the Voyo extensively for travel and casual computing over the last 4 years – it’s fine for web browsing, streaming, office productivity tasks, etc (i.e., what it was intended for) It’s not a speed demon but it gets the job done (although big Windows 10 updates are slow and sometimes require freeing up disk space afterwards)
But agree it is surprising (and lazy) for Asus to be releasing a ‘refreshed’ product with this SOC in 2020.
And it lasted since 96? Wow.
I think the best you could get in 1996 was the Pentium Pro.