VIA's $49 Android-Based Mini-PC is No Bigger Than a Banana

[Stardude82]

A new Atom processor would cost about as much as this entire mini PC does and Atom also uses more power than you think it does. This device would also not be too slow at all, especially if it gets updated to a newer, faster version of Android and that's likely going to happen once Google gets X86 Android out more.

Many Atom Netbooks have power consumption under 12W with a screen! while many desktop Atom systems do suck when it comes to power consumption. That's a cellphone CPU, no way should a system like that use more than a couple watts. Android isn't all that fast when compared to iOS and WM 7.5. I doubt a half-support Via fork will be able to improve much.

 

[sonofliberty08]

[citation][nom]amk-aka-Phantom[/nom]In other words, VIA admits that it's nothing compared to Intel and can't afford to power real PCs.[/citation]
via was competing with intel in other field that u didn't know, such as kiosk/pos system, i'll chose a via nano pos system over the crappy intel atom system any day......

 

[palladin9479]

Seeing as I've built many appliances using Via CPU's, this is coming from experience.

Via Nano's are absolutely amazing CPUs. Their performance vs power usage is situated perfectly for appliances and set-top devices. Powerful enough to get the job done and not be laggy, small enough to fit in tight spaces and lower power enough not to need much cooling. Via is making a killing just not in the consumer market, their biggest customers are Industrial companies. You'll find Via's inside ATM's, Point of Sale devices (cash registers), Medical monitoring devices, advertising displays (digital signs) and Kiosks.

Next time your at a store, when you go to check out look behind the cash register. You'll see an ATX back-plate with the monitor / keyboard connectors and two to four serial connectors for the receipt printer / credit card machine and whatever else they need connected. If you were to open up a digital signboard you'd see a mini-itx Via board (maybe even pico-itx) in the back corner with all the wiring and connectors going to it. At home I run a Via Nano based Linux Router and a Nano based 2003 AD server (file server also).

So yes a device like this would be amazing. Toss it into a really small case and you have a home internet Kiosk / access point. Get creative with Android software and you could turn it into a remote media device or remote control device / terminal. Think home-automation.

 

[mamailo]

This is why VIA never score big.His products always under perform and are obsolete at the door.
They OWN Chrome engine that can do 1080p (even some gaming) AND ChromeMotionHD that can accelerate h.264 and deblocking.For 3 dollars and 4 watts more they miss a homerun product AGAIN.

Gessshhh... then ask why are only a sidenote in the technology history.

 

[ProDigit10]

ethernet only? Or wifi?

 

[hellinstic]

There is three things this item needed, wireless connection, SATA, and 1080p. They can drop the VGA D-Sub Connector, HDMA or Display Port. And dump that Micro SD slot, just give me a normal one.

 

[palladin9479]

ethernet only? Or wifi?

To answer your question, Ethernet onboard with a USB header for a wifi adapter inside.

To everyone asking about wifi, on the board there is the standard 9-pin USB header that supports two USB devices. These are usually used to add more ports but there are a bunch of mini-itx level boards that plug into them. You can easily add a USB daughter board to this to get a 802.11 AGN or any number of USB related devices.

 

[olaf]

i like the fact that it is a ATX compatible device i don't like the fact that is is only 800MHz i don't know of many ITX Cases and i still think that a pc-on-a-stick is more elegant if you use a USB hub with it or even a BT keyboard/mouse, i have seen some pretty awesome looking keyboards with built in trackballs/touch-pad's. And over all the convenience of the standard connectivity is overshadowed by the fact that you can have a materialistic setup that would do the same, and in case of Rikomagic MK802 run other distros of Linux to cater to the android haters

 

[arlandi]

other than occasional light webbrowsing and 720p videos, i see emulators for old video game systems...

 

[zaznet]

[citation][nom]ddan49[/nom]Does anyone else want a roundup of different ultra-portable/budget computers? I want to see how this benchmarks vs other similar computers like the Raspberry Pi[/citation]

It is getting where such a round-up is now viable. Seems a new mini-PC is arriving on the market every other week. Biggest problem is many of these sell out so quickly that getting them all together to benchmark could prove difficult.

 

[izajasz]

Everything fine but do i see D-SUB there ?? WTF...

 

[targetdrone]

[citation][nom]Murissokah[/nom]Still, the banana has more potassium.[/citation]

coconuts have even more.

 

[cookoy]

if www.apc.io doesn't work, try http://apc.io

 

[Cookie72]

Why not using latest android?
2.3 is old no?

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]Cookie72[/nom]Why not using latest android?2.3 is old no?[/citation]

This is a customized/modified version of Android. They might not have such a version of ICS yet.

 

[Cookie72]

This is a customized/modified version of Android. They might not have such a version of ICS yet.

Ideally, a device should not be limited to a certain version of an OS...
When the OS gets updated, it's cool to get new features and keep up with new apps. Ice Cream Sandwich is a good example.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]Cookie72[/nom]Ideally, a device should not be limited to a certain version of an OS...When the OS gets updated, it's cool to get new features and keep up with new apps. Ice Cream Sandwich is a good example.[/citation]

Ideally, Android would have support for PC peripherals so that customized versions aren't necessary for Android based desktop/laptop machines such as this one. Besides, 2.3 is compatible with every app I've ever used (I'm not saying that there aren't apps that don't work on 2.3, just that I don't know of any such apps).

 

[palladin9479]

This is a customized/modified version of Android. They might not have such a version of ICS yet.

Ideally, a device should not be limited to a certain version of an OS...
When the OS gets updated, it's cool to get new features and keep up with new apps. Ice Cream Sandwich is a good example.

It's not. Android source code is available for download.

http://source.android.com

Download it, locate drivers and you can customize the kernel all you want. Even create and load your own Android OS onto this device, I'm positive someone out there will do exactly this. Heck you should be able to get a Linux OS loaded onto it, DD-WRT and OpenWRT do exactly that already.

 

[dreadllokz]

Mine is bigger, but not by much ;o
This "PC" will be killer! Everyone who don't have a PC in house will buy one, stick in the TV and pay for cheap inernet connecion.
I see another BOOM!

 

[freggo]

At $49 I'd definitely give it a try. I'm sure I'll find something for it to do.

 

[Guest]

I think this mini pc with built-in 2D/3D GPU core capable of video output up to 720p , VGA and 10/100 Ethernet port can be used as a small internet TV like Western Digital Dream Box device.

 

[Guest]

i wish that tiny pc will support torrent

 

[sh4dow83]

This seems very intriguing... For a while now, I've wanted to get more into security things using Linux but since I move around a lot, I didn't want to haul around a second computer. These small, cheap devices may just be the solution.

 

[mad tech]

But can it run Crysis ?

 

[mad tech]

would it feature Andoid BananaSplit edition?