We've come across devices that turn compatible TVs and monitors into functional Android and Windows computers. However, Google announced on its official blog that Asus is ready to launch Chromebit, a new micro-computer capable of turning any screen with a free HDMI port into a Chromebook with all the tools and updates of Chrome OS.
The market for affordable computers
The market is surprising us with increasingly affordable systems that don't seem to sacrifice much in terms of performance. Our readers have likely heard about products like the HP Stream 11 laptop and the Stream Mini desktop (both made by HP), with Windows 8.1 preinstalled and a price below $200. The main reason such computers exist lies within Google. The Mountain View giant continues to lower the cost of its Chromebooks and establishes partnerships with companies that perform much better in markets like Asia and Latin America. Two new Chromebooks designed for those regions are the Haier Chromebook 11 and the Hisense Chromebook, both with an official price of $149. Also on the list is the Asus Chromebook Flip, made of aluminum and converts into a tablet with a single move. This system will debut at the end of spring and will cost $249.
Chromebit: a Chromebook in a dongle
Still, what brings us here is Chromebit, another Chrome OS-based computer that Asus plans to launch a bit later than the Flip. Its appearance reminds us of the many Android dongles we've seen on Chinese online sales portals. The difference is that Asus has managed to compress all the virtues of a Chromebook into something as large as a chocolate bar.
The key piece of the Chromebit is its SoC, a Rockchip RK3288 based on the Cortex-A17 architecture, with four cores and a maximum frequency of 1.8 GHz. The rest of the specifications talk about 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of Flash storage, WiFi ac on 2.4 and 5 GHz, Bluetooth 4.0 support, a micro USB port for power, and another full-size USB 2.0.
Another very interesting aspect of the Chromebit is that the user can modify the position of the HDMI connector, which should make installation much easier and reduce strain on the port. Google did not publish an official price for the Chromebit, but given the low cost of the Rockchip SoC, it should be below one hundred dollars.
