“We’ve looked at the computing needs of travelers, business people and families, and realized that a truly portable and affordable solution would be a significant benefit to users of all kinds. Our goal with the Ideacentre Stick 300 is to give those users a sense of freedom and enhanced mobility, while packing a serious punch in a small device”
Lenovo’s General Manager for Worldwide Desktop and Visuals, Jun Ouyang, in a Press Release introducing the Lenovo Ideacenter Stick 300
Looks like the US$149 Intel Compute (Deer, 2015 April 6) isn’t the cheapest Windows 8.1 HDMI (High Definition Media Input) Stick in town.
Say hello to the US$129 Lenovo Ideacenter Stick 300 (Whitney, 2015) which was launched on Tuesday June 23rd 2015 and marks their official entry into the PC Stick World!
The Lenovo IdeaCenter Stick is US$20 cheaper than the Intel Compute despite having similar specs and may be another area that the No.1 PC maker and No. 3 smartphone maker (Deer, 2014 December 18) might seek to dominate.
US$129 Lenovo Ideacenter Stick 300 – Cheaper than Intel Compute to upgrade to Windows 10
Like the Intel Compute, it’s powered by an Intel Baytrail Processor Z3735F Processor (Vermes, 2015) that runs on 2 Gb RAM and 32 Gb of Storage space. With dimensions (Kendrick, 2015) of 100 x 38 x 15 mm (3.94 x 1.5 x 0.59 inches), it sports a HDMI port, a MicroUSB 2.0 port and a SD Card Reader along with a small built-in speaker.
Plug it into any HDTV or Monitor that support HDMI and you have a portable Windows 8.1 computer on the go, provided you have a Bluetooth 4.0 mouse and keyboard handy and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Internet to access the Internet.
Best of all, you’re not stuck with Windows 8.1; you can upgrade to Windows 10 (Curtis, 2015) when it drops on Wednesday July 29th 2015.
Roadwarrior’s Essential Gear – Portable Monitor and Projector
You’ll also need to replace the Microsoft Office, as that’s trialware.
Since you’ll need backup storage on the Cloud, Apple iWorks with iCloud (Deer, 2015, February 19) would make you a real road warrior, allowing you to edit documents and save them in iCloud.
You can also get the US$200 Asus E1Z Projector (Deer, 2015 June 11) when it comes out, making you able to do a Streaming presentation (Newman, 2015) just about anywhere, once a HDTV Display is handy.
The only thing cheaper is the US$99 Google Chromebit HDMI Stick (Deer, 2014, April 14) that runs Google Chrome OS. So, if you haven’t committed to purchasing the US$149 Intel Compute since it went on sale on Friday April 24th 2015, you can definitely spend US$130 on the Lenovo IdeaCenter Stick.
References:
- Deer, L. (2014, April 14). @Google launches Google Chromebit, Haier and Hisense Chromebook and @Asus Chromebook Flip – @Microsoft Productivity vs @GoogleChrome OS low Price. Retrieved from http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2015/04/Google-Chromebit-Haier-Hisense-Asus-Chromebook-Flip-Microsoft.html
- Deer, L. (2015, February 19). Apple iWorks for iCloud Beta now Free for Windows, Linux OS and Google Chrome OS. Retrieved from https://lindsworthdeer.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/apple-iworks-for-icloud-beta-free-windows-linux-google-chrome-os/
- Deer, L. (2015 April 6). US$150 Intel Compute Stick launches on NewEgg and Amazon. Retrieved from https://lindsworthdeer.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/intel-compute-stick-hdmi-newegg-amazon/
- Curtis, S. (2015, June 8). Windows 10 release date: When is Microsoft’s free upgrade available? Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/11659347/Windows-10-release-date.html
- Deer, L. (2015 June 11). US$200 Asus E1Z Projector is a portable Projector for Road Warriors. Retrieved from https://lindsworthdeer.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/us200-asus-e1z-projector-is-a-portable-projector-for-road-warriors/
- Whitney, L. (2015, June 23). Lenovo unveils $130 PC on a stick. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com/news/lenovo-unveils-130-pc-on-a-stick/
- Vermes, K. (2015, June 23). Lenovo’s Stick PC has a Low Price Tag and a Built-in Speaker. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/lenovo-announces-the-ideacentre-stick-300/
- Kendrick, J. (2015, June 23). Lenovo unveils Ideacentre Stick 300: Windows PC in your pocket. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/lenovo-unveils-ideacentre-stick-300-windows-pc-in-your-pocket/
- Newman, J. (2015, June 23). Lenovo’s $130 ideacentre Stick 300 tiny PC is cheaper than the Intel version. Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2939007/lenovos-130-ideacentre-stick-300-tiny-pc-is-cheaper-than-the-intel-version.html
- Deer, L. (2014 December 18). TrendForce’s Chinese Smartphone Invasion – How Lenovo, Huawei and Xiaomi will achieve 50% Global Marketshare by 2016 in Latin American and India. Retrieved from http://mythoughtsontechnologyandjamaica.blogspot.com/2014/12/trendforces-chinese-smartphone-invasion.html
