4 ms·

A few ideas how to make it better: - include a small screen so I can still do stuff even if I don't have TV at hand - use touch screen so I can use it with

by annnnd 11y ago

A few ideas how to make it better: - include a small screen so I can still do stuff even if I don't have TV at hand - use touch screen so I can use it without mouse / keyboard too - use Android instead of Chrome OS so I can play games with it - while you are at it, can this thing make phone calls too? In other words, why not just make it simple to plug an Android smartphone to peripherals (screen, mouse, keyboard)? That would be much more valuable to me. Also, why is there just one USB port? If I were to use such a stick the first thing I would add to it is a separate USB hub just so I can use it... why do I need to carry two pieces of HW around? EDIT: reformatting. EDIT2: can someone explain the downvotes? My point is that I don't see a niche that couldn't be better served by a smartphone, especially if you could plug in the peripherals.

Jedd 11y ago
To answer your EDIT2 - I suspect it's because your main / original post was somewhere between not-funny, and not-useful. That is, you described a device that already exists (a mobile phone) in a roundabout way, and seem to be demanding that this device should be yet another mobile phone -- rather than considering the features of this particular device as delivered. It's possible that neither ASUS or Google considered the option of making a mobile phone, but this seems unlikely. It's equally unlikely they could develop the same kind of CPU/AV grunt along with the features you want and still ship at USD$85. To your other questions - there's one USB port because this is intended to plug into something else (specifically using HDMI), and not have a deskload worth of cruft plugged in to it. As observed in the article most people will use BT mouse & keyboard. Network (802.11ac) is built in. What use more USB?
- annnnd 11y ago
  Thanks for the clarification on downvotes, I guess you are right. As far as BT mice and keyboards goes, well, I wouldn't want to give them to my grandmother. What happens when battery goes out? Yes, she could always put it in charger, but why is this any better than regular USB cable then? But I recognize that some people like (and use) BT peripherals, so there might be a market for it. I agree with your other comments, I'm sure my idea is not unique. If I'm not mistaken, MS is working in this direction (and has some advantage here because their OS is more desktop oriented anyway).
  - Jedd 11y ago
    All good. FWIW I have neither downvote rights on HN, nor insight into the way other HNers think - so it's all quite speculative. WRT bluetooth peripherals -- I used to feel this way about mouse, keyboard, car, and in-one-ear headset. My position on all has changed 180° over the past year or two. Not so much the grandmother conundrum, but the performance/latency, bother to charge or replace batteries, and general swankiness. For gaming apparently BT headsets (and presumably mouse/keyboard) are too laggy, but for workplace convenience it's hard to go past them. Buy your grandmother a spare set of batteries for the third drawer, and consider that my rinky little Logitech 2 x AAA mouse is running on original batteries some 14 months on. These things are amazingly power-conservative. And even just one less thing to plug in when setting up a laptop (I travel a fair bit) is hugely appreciated. I simply wouldn't countenance a return to a wired USB mouse now for business use. Similar experience with BT headsets, and in-car use -- difficult to consider not using that tech now. MS may well be working towards this area -- it's not a novel idea, certainly, and I recall about fifteen years ago people touting the benefits of thin client workstations you could carry around with you. Unfortunately keyboards and screens had to be provided at the other end, and few workplaces considered this convenient (compared to, presumably, just issuing laptops to mobile users, outright declining a BYOD approach, and/or enforcing a SOE). It's all one big cycle.
- xigency 11y ago
  This isn't slashdot. Why should posts be funny or useful to receive karma? This is a discussion forum. Furthermore, Google is in the phone business so why shouldn't they provide this when it is essentially the same cost on the market.
  - Jedd 11y ago
    > Google is in the phone business so why shouldn't they > provide this when it is essentially the same cost on > the market. I shall politely observe that I believe you have managed to squeeze two false premises into one sentence. I own a 'google phone', and it has 'LG' carved into the back. Yes, a couple of years old now, but wikipedia[1] will advise that: "In 2011, 96% of Google's revenue was derived from its advertising programs." Maybe the 'phone business' has improved markedly for them in recent times, but I suspect not. The other is 'same cost' -- it most certainly is not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Advertising
    - xigency 11y ago
      Given that ASUS manufactures this device, what Google has provided here is the software. The main thing they've contributed here is the name of the piece, being 'Chromebit' for 'Chrome OS.' Perhaps the original commenter was stating that he would rather see an 'Android bit'. As for the cost, it's possible to get Android phones in the $20 range from a cellphone boutique store without a contract. More to my point, I would never buy one of these.
DanBC 11y ago
> My point is that I don't see a niche that couldn't be better served by a smartphone, Digital signage.

by annnnd 11y ago

Jedd 11y ago

To answer your EDIT2 - I suspect it's because your main / original post was somewhere between not-funny, and not-useful. That is, you described a device that already exists (a mobile phone) in a roundabout way, and seem to be demanding that this device should be yet another mobile phone -- rather than considering the features of this particular device as delivered. It's possible that neither ASUS or Google considered the option of making a mobile phone, but this seems unlikely. It's equally unlikely they could develop the same kind of CPU/AV grunt along with the features you want and still ship at USD$85. To your other questions - there's one USB port because this is intended to plug into something else (specifically using HDMI), and not have a deskload worth of cruft plugged in to it. As observed in the article most people will use BT mouse & keyboard. Network (802.11ac) is built in. What use more USB?

annnnd 11y ago
Thanks for the clarification on downvotes, I guess you are right. As far as BT mice and keyboards goes, well, I wouldn't want to give them to my grandmother. What happens when battery goes out? Yes, she could always put it in charger, but why is this any better than regular USB cable then? But I recognize that some people like (and use) BT peripherals, so there might be a market for it. I agree with your other comments, I'm sure my idea is not unique. If I'm not mistaken, MS is working in this direction (and has some advantage here because their OS is more desktop oriented anyway).
- Jedd 11y ago
  All good. FWIW I have neither downvote rights on HN, nor insight into the way other HNers think - so it's all quite speculative. WRT bluetooth peripherals -- I used to feel this way about mouse, keyboard, car, and in-one-ear headset. My position on all has changed 180° over the past year or two. Not so much the grandmother conundrum, but the performance/latency, bother to charge or replace batteries, and general swankiness. For gaming apparently BT headsets (and presumably mouse/keyboard) are too laggy, but for workplace convenience it's hard to go past them. Buy your grandmother a spare set of batteries for the third drawer, and consider that my rinky little Logitech 2 x AAA mouse is running on original batteries some 14 months on. These things are amazingly power-conservative. And even just one less thing to plug in when setting up a laptop (I travel a fair bit) is hugely appreciated. I simply wouldn't countenance a return to a wired USB mouse now for business use. Similar experience with BT headsets, and in-car use -- difficult to consider not using that tech now. MS may well be working towards this area -- it's not a novel idea, certainly, and I recall about fifteen years ago people touting the benefits of thin client workstations you could carry around with you. Unfortunately keyboards and screens had to be provided at the other end, and few workplaces considered this convenient (compared to, presumably, just issuing laptops to mobile users, outright declining a BYOD approach, and/or enforcing a SOE). It's all one big cycle.
xigency 11y ago
This isn't slashdot. Why should posts be funny or useful to receive karma? This is a discussion forum. Furthermore, Google is in the phone business so why shouldn't they provide this when it is essentially the same cost on the market.
- Jedd 11y ago
  > Google is in the phone business so why shouldn't they > provide this when it is essentially the same cost on > the market. I shall politely observe that I believe you have managed to squeeze two false premises into one sentence. I own a 'google phone', and it has 'LG' carved into the back. Yes, a couple of years old now, but wikipedia[1] will advise that: "In 2011, 96% of Google's revenue was derived from its advertising programs." Maybe the 'phone business' has improved markedly for them in recent times, but I suspect not. The other is 'same cost' -- it most certainly is not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Advertising https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google#Advertising
  - xigency 11y ago
    Given that ASUS manufactures this device, what Google has provided here is the software. The main thing they've contributed here is the name of the piece, being 'Chromebit' for 'Chrome OS.' Perhaps the original commenter was stating that he would rather see an 'Android bit'. As for the cost, it's possible to get Android phones in the $20 range from a cellphone boutique store without a contract. More to my point, I would never buy one of these.

DanBC 11y ago

> My point is that I don't see a niche that couldn't be better served by a smartphone, Digital signage.