The FXI Cotton Candy is getting a lot of attention as a PC on a stick that will be available soon for just $200. But a Chinese manufacturer has beat the Cotton Candy to market with a $74 USB thumb-drive sized computer.
The Model MK802 is available from
AliExpress for $74, or even less if you order in bulk. The little computer looks like a portable storage device, but it has a 1.5 GHz Allwiner A10 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. It ships with Google Android 4.0 software, but theoretically you should be able to install Ubuntu or other operating systems.
Allwinner A10 Android 4.0 mini PCYou don’t get all the same features from the MK802 as you do from the Cotton Candy. The little guy has an HDMI port rather than an HDMI connector. That means that you can connect an external display, but you can’t simply plug the device right into the back of a monitor or TV to use it.
The MK802 has a microSD card slot for extra storage space and USB host support for peripherals. There’s one full-sized USB port and a micro USB port.
It also features 802.11b/g WiFi and support for HD video playback in a variety of media formats.
The computer (which is marketed as an Internet TV device) measures 3.5″ x 1.4″ x 0.5 and weighs about 7 ounces.
The MK802 isn’t the only device of this type making the rounds. A company called Zero Devices is preparing to launch something called the
Z802 which looks nearly identical… except for the Zero Devices logo on the front of the device. That model appears to be available for pre-order
from some sources for about $89.
Specs at a glance:
