If you’re a fan of Taiwan-based ASUS, you’ll be thrilled to know about their latest model to the Pocket PC family – the ASUS VIVO STICK, touted as the world’s smallest USB-computer to run Windows 10 at the moment!
There’s a USB Computer?
Yes, technology has evolved from the USB drive we commonly refer to as a Pen drive or Memory stick to a basic computer on that little thingamajiggie in our pocket or a Pocket PC as it’s also referred to. The recent contender in this category was the Intel Compute Stick which let you transform any HDMI monitor or TV into a Computer; it came with a quad-core Intel Atom processor (the older Bay-trail), Intel HD Graphics, integrated WiFi and Bluetooth technologies, 32 GB storage, 2 GB memory, a USB 2.0 port, and a Micro SD card reader. One also had a choice of Operating Systems – the Windows 8.1 (with a free upgrade to Windows 10) or Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. The Intel Compute Stick received mixed reviews and at a price-tag of 10,000 INR, didn’t get many takers.
So what’s special about this ASUS VIVO STICK?
The ASUS VIVO STICK jumps up to the next Atom iteration code-named Cherry Trail and being the latest processor, it also runs on the latest OS from Microsoft, Windows 10.
ASUS managed to squeeze both a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 connector onto the VIVO Stick plus a microUSB connector for power. They even made provision for an audio jack! Inside, ASUS has included 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. And yes, all this on a USB stick! What’s disappointing though is the meagre 32 GB of storage with no microSD slot; Windows 10 will take up most of that space and that means not enough storage for your files. On the other hand, including two USB connections means that you can connect both a mouse and keyboard which gives you a ready-to-go Pocket PC!
Our Verdict
ASUS has announced USB-Computer sticks before but this one steps it up a few notches; with the latest Cherry trail processor and running Microsoft’s Windows 10 OS, the ASUS VIVO STICK is a worthy contender to convert your HDMI-enabled TV to a Internet-ready computer for less than 10,000 INR. Would you buy it?!
