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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.
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.
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.
There's nothing "funny" about it though, it seems like a real product. GMail was launched on April 1st too.
Nope, it's legit: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2015/03/more-chromebooks-for-everyone.html
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.
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.
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?
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".