Google Unveils the Chromebit: an HDMI Chromebook Dongle

An anonymous reader writes: Today Google unveiled a new device: the Chromebit. It's a small compute stick that contains the Rockchip 3288 processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB of storage — much like a low-end Chromebook. It connects to a TV or monitor through an HDMI port. (It also has a USB port for power and plugging in peripherals.) Google says the Chromebit is their solution for turning any display into a computer, and it will cost under $100. Google also announced a couple of new Chromebooks as well. Haier and Hisense models will cost $150, and an ASUS model with a rotating display will cost $250.

Comments

Transcoding capabilities?

[sanf780]

If it does not do transcoding, what is the advantage regarding a smartphone plus a Chromecast? Or a Smartphone plus an HDMI dongle? I still fail to see the advantage of ChromeOs.

Re:Transcoding capabilities?

[shutdown -p now]

If it does not do transcoding, what is the advantage regarding a smartphone plus a Chromecast?

The price?

Re:Transcoding capabilities?

[Darinbob]

Is it too thin of a client though? I honestly can't imagine doing work on a chromebook, unless my job was social media director and all I had to do was browse the web.

Re:Transcoding capabilities?

[Half-pint HAL]

If you can put a VNC client on it, it's a bog-standard thin client, like any other.

Re:Transcoding capabilities?

[qbzzt]

The price is better only if you don't already have a smartphone.

Use cases

[ADRA]

Well I personally have no use cases for something like this, but thinking about the economic low end I see this as a win. There are a lot more HDMI capable TV's than there are PC's, so if they can create a good input device / internet solution, I'd consider this a win. The problem is that inputs will most likely be non-ideal and internet's expensive (unless you're 'sharing' a neighbors connection). I wish em' luck finding new ways of getting computing resources into the hands of everyone though.

Re:Use cases

[bondsbw]

For this exact thing, I agree with you. But it's hinting at something I definitely want to see: a computer in my pocket that can connect and conform to any screen/input available.

While I'm out and about, I attach it to a tablet-sized dumb touchscreen (that costs much less than tablets do today) and jot down some notes. Then when I get home, I attach it to a 24" monitor (or two) with mouse and keyboard. I start where I left off, and everything is the same except the UI has adapted. Once I'm done with my work, I warm up some food and sit down in the living room to review the work on the TV using the appropriate remote interface (or gestures a la Kinect).

Now, that's cool but that computer stick is probably not very powerful. Let's take it further... when I get home, not only do I attach a large screen with mouse and keyboard input, but I also have addon CPU and GPU cores, memory, and so on to enhance the capabilities from a simple stick to a powerful PC.

Sure, most of what I want is either possible today or will be soon via cloud synchronization. But I think there's still something to be said about having this capability independent of the Internet and a large corporate entity controlling my experience.

Re:Use cases

[Anonymous Coward]

While I'm out and about, I attach it to a tablet-sized dumb touchscreen (that costs much less than tablets do today) and jot down some notes.

Motorola tried a similar thing with the ability to attach your smartphone to a dumb terminal, the problem was that without the smartphone attached you just had this useless terminal that you then had to carry and if you broke your smartphone you also broke your laptop.

and everything is the same except the UI has adapted

Or you could just have a program appropriate to the device on each device and sync the data between them through a USB stick or the internet. One of the biggest problems with your idea is that if you lose or break that device you lose everything and everything you plug it into is pretty much useless without it. If I drop my phone in the water I still have all my data synced and accessible and able to be used and manipulated via my laptop, tablet or desktop. I can already sync necessary data between them so where is the advantage?

Let's take it further... when I get home, not only do I attach a large screen with mouse and keyboard input, but I also have addon CPU and GPU cores, memory, and so on to enhance the capabilities from a simple stick to a powerful PC.

Then you just end up with the fragmentation of what you can and cannot do depending on what the device is plugged in to. Why carry around all this stuff that is useful only when you plug it in to the added CPU/GPU/Memory? For the past decade or so it has been possible to carry around all your data on a USB stick so it is accessible everywhere you go and from whatever device you plug it into but even that hasn't caught on for a variety of reasons, much less doing that and the operating system and PC hardware as well.

Mainframe, desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone...

[penguinoid]

...dongle.

This is on Mashable*Australia*

[BluBrick]

Remember kids, just like all other dates, April 1st comes to Australia earlier than to most other countries - almost a whole day earlier than the U.S.

Re:This is on Mashable*Australia*

[hcs_$reboot]

Should that be modded "+1 Informative" or "-1 Spoiler"?

Re:This is on Mashable*Australia*

[Anonymous Coward]

There's nothing "funny" about it though, it seems like a real product. GMail was launched on April 1st too.

Meh...

[Anonymous Coward]

Go on Aliexpress and search for "Android Mini PC" and you will find tons of these. These specs are fairly standard for that price. $100 for 2G/16G with hardware H.265 4k decoding.

Id rather have Android than ChromeOs.

Official announcement on Google Chrome blog

[PeeAitchPee]

Nope, it's legit: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/more-chromebooks-for-everyone.html

Can I stream to it?

[Snotnose]

Will it be able to access my Windows NAS (which coincidentally would be maybe 3 inches from the stick) to stream movies and/or music? Looking at WDTV now (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/wdtv/), but it's lack of Netflix is disturbing.

Re:Can I stream to it?

[quenda]

Of course you can. This is a mini-PC running a "real" Linux, not just android, and certainly not a chromecast dongle.
Linux uses SAMBA to access Windows shares.
These would make a great HTPC. You should be able to run a DLNA client or server. And Netflix will work too.

Re: Can I stream to it?

[sanf780]

I though Netflix already works with Chromecast. So let me focus on other cases. I am worried that the Chromebit might not have enough muscle to play anything but H264 level 4.1 (Max level used in Blurays), as many other HW decoders have been doing in the past. Forget about higher H264 levels, or even H265 (not sure if there will be discrimination here). And I will not get into the discussion about 10b per channel video that is so popular with fansubbed anime these days.
With no specs available, I am not convinced the Chromebit is much better than a Chromecast, unless you want to use ChromeOs. If I were to chose, I would rather use a tablet than a TV for navigating the internet.

Re:Can I stream to it?

[chr1st1anSoldier]

Not sure if you've wandered over to the Microsoft Privacy Policy: http://www.microsoft.com/priva... but they collect info about you too.

Not really sure if you're a Microsoft employee, but it looks like one or two have visited based on some of the comments I see here. People rambling on about Google spying as if no other web service collects data about its users. At the same time try to lift up Microsoft as if they're the bastion of hope for a 100% private internet when they are really doing the same thing Google is doing. It's the pot calling the kettle black and nothing more. Furthermore, Microsofts continual attempts at smear campaigns against any competitors just makes me desire their products less and less.

Just look at the difference in advertising, Google just promotes their products while Microsoft just bashes the competition. It comes off as extremely immature and childish of Microsoft. To top it off they throw in astroturfing on boards like this and reddit and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Re:Can I stream to it?

[quenda]

Wow, on what do you base that rant?
I've been using a current Chrome-OS device (ASUS Chromebox) and it makes a great desktop and HTPC.
You can run Ubuntu in a chroot, feels like native.
Or if you want to wipe chrome-os, you can install Linux native. No hack needed, just switch to developer mode.
This is not Android.

Do you have some rational reason to believe the new device will be locked down? No developer mode?

Re:Can I stream to it?

[chr1st1anSoldier]

I liked the part how you overlooked the text in your own quote about collecting data by external means not related to a Microsoft Account.

We collect this information in a variety of ways, including from web forms, technologies like cookies, web logging and software on your computer or other device.

I also like how you overlooked the sentences like these:

We use demographic information – gender, country, age and postal code but not your name or contact information – from your Microsoft account to provide personalized ads to you.

I also liked how you overlooked that was the privacy policy for Microsoft Services. You still have privacy policies for

Bing & MSN: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
CRM: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
Microsoft.com: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
Mobile Devices: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us...
Office: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
Enterprise Services: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
XBox: http://www.microsoft.com/priva...
All other products(Including the Windows OS): http://www.microsoft.com/priva...

convenience , performance, OS, price, capabilities

[raymorris]

It's more convenient to plug in a dongle and be done than to plug in a dongle, connect a smartphone, and then hope your application works with the Chromecast. A real hdmi connection will outperform the Chromecast screencasting by a couple orders of magnitude. Since it's Chromebook-like hardware, it'll run Ubuntu or other Linux - the same OS running on everything from desktops and radios to super computers. Programs can be written in any language. It has full remote management capability (ssh etc.) so you can set it up and everything from your desktop, using the same methods you use to manage servers over a network, unlike a smartphone.

I have one use-case right away. We want to hang a monitor or TV on the wall as a kind of digital bulletin board that has constant updates. This device would be perfect. We COULD use a smartphone and a dongle, but just a dongle (no smartphone needed) makes it simpler, and running Linux on the dongle means it's more powerful and flexible- I can program it in Perl, C, Ruby, or PHP rather than being forced to write an Android app in Java.

Re:Mainframe, desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone.

[Darinbob]

You forgot phablet. Maybe we'll get phongle in there too at some point.

Re:Too little

[Lussarn]

Still too expensive and too weak. You can get an HP Stream 7 32GB for $80 + $10 USB OTG card reader/full size USB/MHL HDMI adapter and have a full Windows 8.1/10 tablet & PC.

If you want a TABLET you should probably check that one out or any of the other super lowend tablets, but I don't see how that has anything to do with HDMI dongle computers

Re:convenience , performance, OS, price, capabilit

[Eunuchswear]

At "sub $100" what is it's advantage over a $35 Rasberry pi 2?

Also screencasting?

[drinkypoo]

If it also replaces chromecast by accepting screencasts from Android devices, then I'm in. I was going to buy a Razer Forge, but that was supposed to be out already and it isn't, so I guess Razer just sucks eggs like usual

The ChromeBit and the ChromeCast

[zennling]

At this point, why have both? Could you not just extend the ChromeCast to have the ChromeBit's features?

Re:convenience , performance, OS, price, capabilit

[unrtst]

... or you can just use any of the already available in much cheaper HDMI dongles and install linux on them. For example, here's one way to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
http://www.cnx-software.com/20...

You can get an RK3188 based HDMI stick on amazon for $40 - $50 (I didn't spend much time searching... I'm sure there are cheaper ones and beefier and more expensive ones). Alibaba has them much cheaper too, if you're willing to wait for it.

IT department says "random Chinese guy, or Google?

[raymorris]

I'll mention to the IT department that they could save $30 by buying a generic stick from a random Chinese guy rather than buying a popular product form the third-largest company in the world.

If you're a hobbiest playing around, seeing what you can do with your new toy, you might want to save that $30. If you're a business spending $100 / hour to employ someone to set it up and maintain it, that Chinese stick is much more expensive. It's much less expensive to get something well documented and supported by the world's third-largest company than to choose something with instructions that read "Push of button the power electric to on".