Your smartphone is a powerful computer that fits in your pocket. Why, then, are most desktop computers today fairly large, heavy, unsightly boxes?
Asus and Google are changing that today with the launch of Chromebit CS10 -- a small HDMI dongle that's actually a full-fledged PC.
Though it's the size of your average USB stick, the Chromebit has fairly decent specifications: a quad-core Rockchip RK3288-C processor and an integrated Rockchip Mali T764 graphics chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. On the connectivity front, you'll find an HDMI port and a USB 2.0 port as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. And all of that was stuffed into a 2.6-ounce, 4.8 x 1.2 x 0.67-inch case.
In practical terms, it's a tiny computer that can run full HD video. Plug it into a TV or any display with a HDMI port, connect it to a Bluetooth keyboard and a mouse, and you're ready to do pretty much everything you can do on a desktop PC. It runs Google's Linux-based Chrome OS -- not exactly the same experience as on Windows or OS X, but enough for most web-based tasks.
Google highlights web browsing, YouTube watching, games and video streaming as typical usage scenarios for the Chromebit. Asus also sees it as a cheap way to create a kiosk for restaurants, airports and hotels.
We've previewed the Chromebit when it was first announced in March 2015. Not much has changed in terms of specs (the color did, though; instead of blue, it will be available in "cacao black" and "tangerine orange"), but now we know the exact price: $85.
In the U.S., Chromebit will be available from retailers such as Amazon, Fry's and Newegg. Globally, you can expect to see it at retailers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK.