The Intel Compute Stick is a tiny desktop computer crammed into a stick small enough to slide into your pocket. But it’s not the only PC-on-a-stick. Chinese device makers Mele and MeegoPad have their own models, as do Epsen, Beelink, and Hanspree.
But don’t be surprised if you start to see a lot of models that look like the ECS PCoS in the coming months.
That’s because ECS (Elitegroup Computer Systems) is a Taiwanese company that makes products which are sold under the brand names of other companies. Sometimes that means PC makers will contract with a company like ECS to manufacturer a product based on their specifications… but sometimes it means ECS designs a product in-house and then licenses the design to other companies.
The PCoS falls into the latter category: it’s a tiny PC stick that measures about 4.7″ x 1.5″ x 0.6″ and which features an Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core Bay Trail processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, an HDMI connector, a USB 2.0 port, micro USB 2.0 port (for power), a microSD card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0.
ECS says the system supports Windows 8.1 with Bing, but if it’s anything like the Intel Compute Stick, it should also support Ubuntu and possibly other Linux-based operating systems.
Unlike some PC sticks, but like the Intel Computer Stick, the PCoS has a fan to help keep the system from overheating. There are vents in several parts of the case.
Japan’s Mouse Computer launched a PC stick in April which is pretty clearly based on the ECS PCoS design. But ECS actually has a few different design options, including the Mouse Computer-like version with rounded edges and a more boxy design.
source:liliputing│via: Notebook Italia
