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MiiPC: $99 Family-Friendly Android PC
- Siecje 14y agoI am wondering what the specs are? Not that it needs to be really powerful but still needs enough RAM to be usable.
- damian2000 14y agothey are listed on the page... Technical Specifications: - Processor: Marvell New Armada Dual Core 1.2GHz SoC / Memory: 1GB RAM - Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB port) - Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth (4.0) - I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack, HDMI (1080p/720p) output
- Siecje 14y agoright I just saw that and 1 GB is good. Was thinking the app and extra android features alone were not worth the extra money, but it seems really good value.
- mtgx 14y agoWhether Google wants it or not, it seems people really want to put Android on PC's. If only Google helped that a bit by making Android more suited for PC's (from a user interface point of view).
- ChuckMcM 14y agoA more interesting question is why not ChromeOS ? Most of what you want to do in a 'lean back' sort of experience ChromeOS should be really good at, and you get cost effective on the peripherals. However, Android doesn't require the backend support that ties you to Google's cloud that ChromeOS does. So the interesting question for me is, when do we see something Firefox OSish for this kind of box?
- lukeschlather 14y ago> However, Android doesn't require the backend support that ties you to Google's cloud that ChromeOS does. Well that's exactly it. If the Chromebook Pixel ran Android I might have been tempted to buy one. As it is I can't see myself shelling out that kind of cash for a machine that takes 30 seconds to boot Ubuntu.
- hosay123 14y agoThe reason so many varieties of these Android sticks exist is the SOC manufacturers involved are often only supporting Android in their BSPs. How that came to be is a wildly interesting topic in itself, and one that isn't talked about much. Basically Freescale, Rockchip, Allwinner and a bunch more names I don't remember provide reference designs that boot Android out of the box. Of those names I believe only Freescale make any serious effort to support Linux directly at all.
- Zigurd 14y agoYou can get Ubuntu pre-built for Pandaboard http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Pre-Built_Binaries http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Pre-Built_Binaries
- ChuckMcM 14y agoI have a Pandaboard, its great. From a UX/Support point of view Android on it certainly looks nicer than Unity does, and in spite of the great work that the folks at TI have been doing the 3D accelerator support still seems to be better on Android. That said, I don't doubt for a minute we're in a "new" place with respect to our home computing infrastructure. I am pretty close to building a 'browsing only' solution separate from the virtual machine I currently use.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- Zigurd 14y agoRe "people really want to put Android on PC's" I think you can generalize to say people want Android in form-factors Google hasn't got the time to provide. Or look at it this way: Google TV could have been an "Android PC" OS but Google TV isn't developed in the open. Initially, it didn't even have install-able apps. This seems like one of those cases where more openness would be to Google's benefit.
- andybak 14y agoSorry to go all tl;dr on you all but - how does this differ from the several dozen or so other Android mini-PC's out there? i.e. http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/NEOX5.html http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/NEOX5.html
- crawrey 14y agoIt looks to be keyed towards children and restricting their access to certain content and usage time frames. I suppose it will fill a niche market. But I certainly don't support its aim.
- beefsack 14y agoThere are also substantially more powerful ones around: https://www.miniand.com/products/GK802%20Android%20Mini%20PC https://www.miniand.com/products/GK802%20Android%20Mini%20PC
- eupharis 14y agoThis is different than the NEO X5 or its peers because it's bigger, slower [1], costs the same amount, and you won't actually receive it for six months or a year. It also has a custom piece of software. Which is really what is being sold here. [1]The NEO X5 is somewhat coy about it's clock speed. But the CPU is a Rockchip 3066. Which is "up to 1.6 GHz." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockchip#RK30xx_series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockchip#RK30xx_series
- rbanffy 14y agoAm I the only one who would love something like this, but with standard expandable memory and, maybe, a SATA or PCIe port?
- podperson 14y agoAnd a better CPU?
- mbetter 14y agoA real operating system would be nice, too.
- andsosayallofus 14y agoAnd lets get rid of the computer and add an FM radio. Ok, we just invented the Pontiac Aztek.
- mappu 14y agoSorry, i don't quite follow. But i upvoted you for surrealism.
- rbanffy 14y agoIt's possible to run a Debian or Ubuntu install side by side with Android (or simply install it instead of Android).
- rbanffy 14y agoI was aiming for a simple desktop fanless machine where I could run Emacs.
- hosay123 14y agoFor comparison, here's a stick with double the RAM, double the cores, and double the flash for 30% less ($70): http://dealsprime.com/ugoos-ug007b-andriod-4-2-tv-stick-hdmi-dongle-rk3188-quad-core-1-6ghz-mini-pc-w-wifi.html http://dealsprime.com/ugoos-ug007b-andriod-4-2-tv-stick-hdmi... . For literally a few $ more you can get the same spec in a set top case complete with Ethernet port, in a plethora of shapes and sizes. If these devices interest you, spend an hour reading http://www.cnx-software.com/ http://www.cnx-software.com/ archives. This computer only stands to highlight how completely abused Kickstarter is becoming: the project is little more than a schmoozy marketing gimmick to fund these guys to subcontract one of about a hundred different Chinese vendors to design and manufacture the boxes on their behalf. There's absolutely no reason to pay the premium, the market is already flooded with better alternatives.
- ferongr 14y agoThe brief specs are only one part of the puzzle. The dongle, like many smartphones could most likely suffer from gimped flash interface and channels, low RAM speeds and slow USB (making accessing data on external HDDs painfully slow). Furthermore the thermal limits on continuous operation of the main chipset may be different (due to the difference in ventilation).
- hosay123 14y agoWhich of the approximately 200 pre-existing, owned, tested and reviewed models over on cnx-software.com are you referring to? I'd rather take my chances buying something that already exists at a fair price, not last-generation vaporware sold at an unfair premium, targeted at those who don't know any better. As for reliability, there are definitely some designs out there with heating issues and flaky wifi (missing antenna is common), but overall manufacturing quality doesn't vary much at any price point. It's not like these sticks are cheap because there's child labour involved, they all come from a small set of factories that rely more on volume to stay in business than anything else.
- tiles 14y agoIt's a product that people are willing to pay for and in return people get an accountable manufacturer (or at least a sympathetic community of other buyers) rather than a random Chinese producer. How is this abusing Kickstarter? The market being flooded clearly wasn't enough for them. They're buying exactly what is advertised. I don't think manufacturers should feel bad for pricing a product comfortably (what a disaster it is when a Kickstarter project underestimates its costs), since anyone is free to undercut them at any time on the same service.
- jader201 14y agoAm I the only one who thought this was somehow related to the Wii (and its Mii's) or otherwise related to Nintendo? In other words, had the title been "MiiPC: $99" (without the "Android PC" part), I would have immediately assumed it had something to do with Nintendo. They really should have avoided that name and/or spelling to ensure it wasn't mistaken for a Nintendo or related console. It would be different if it were a car or a vacuum cleaner -- but as a video game console, I think this is a bad name.
- wschorn 14y agoThis sort of thing leaves a sickening dread in my gut that kickstarter is really just a way to drag things down to the lowest common denominator.
- frozenport 14y agoThere is absolutely no motivation for pushing the price point lower. PCs are devices we expect to use for hours and hours and hours. A difference of $300 will make this into a real computer, most parents value their kids beyond such a petty price point.
- protomyth 14y ago$300 is still a lot of money to a lot of people. $99 is doable, sometimes $399 isn't.
- frozenport 14y agoIf you can't afford $300 for your kids, you have big problems. You are certainly not the family shown in the advertizement. Also you need a keyboard and monitor which could easily set you back another $100. It is my humble opinion that the price differences between this and a real computer are unjustified, just buy your kids a real pc!
- brickmort 14y agobelieve me, I know plenty of people who wish they could afford half of that for their kids. with that said, the threshold of an affordable 'household pc' IMO plateaued years ago with a 4GB 2.5Ghz system, if that. if you look around, you can find an old system to revive for less than $100, and you can get a standard mouse/keyboard for 20 bucks.
- protomyth 14y agoYep, your living like a lot of people on the edge. You cover your bills and clothes and then don't do much else. I am truly disappointed that the opportunities I had to learn to program in the late-70's and early-80's are not there anymore. We have cut off a part of the population from learning to program early even though the price of computing has dropped.
- joezydeco 14y agoSo you're telling me that these 3 guys, with 75 years of experience in the business including the ex-VP of eMachines, who sits on the boards of a bunch of companies, can't scrape together $50,000 to finish this thing? What am I missing here? Is this just a publicity thing?
- stcredzero 14y agoAlso a validation of market.
- tjbiddle 14y agoProof of market - And when that's complete, they also have their first few hundred units off of their shelves.
- thatthatis 14y agoPerhaps the title is the problem here, but the innovation is not the box but rather the parent control and the accessibility for low-tech consumers. Everyone yelling "ZORMG, you can get a cheaper bare linux/android/pi/etc" is missing the point. This outfit is selling simplicity, piece of mind, and parental control at a fairly low price point. The real headline should be "$100 android PCs now reach technophobes."
- tonez 14y agoGood point. Changed the title along the lines of your suggestion.
- LAMike 14y agoWindows worst nightmare: Regular people (i.e not HN readers) using Android on the desktop.
- LAMike 14y agoWindows worst nightmare: Regular people (i.e not HN readers) using Android on the desktop.
- smewpy 14y agoDoesn't everyone realize by now that these android tv boxes are a dime a dozen here in China now? What the heck makes this a legitimate kickstarter? They have their PCBA in a tester, like they've actually designed the PCBA (NOT), and love how he said "our mobile app is near ready"...you can bet that app isn't more than a shell! Ridiculous.