IFA Berlin 2015 Babies: Asus VivoStick and Acer Revo Build
Berlin’s recent IFA convention not only produced announcements from the major smartphone players, it also brought in interesting innovations from two major brands in mobile computing.
The Asus VivoStick
If you ever dreamed you could turn your 52-inch LED TV into a computer, your dream is about to come true: Asus finally managed to fit the whole of Windows 10 into a 32-GB USB Stick.
Yes, computers will soon be nothing but 5.43 x 1.34 x 0.59 inch devices, pluggable on anything that has a USB port and recognizes flash storage.
Aside from those dimensions, here are the specifications for that diminutive wonder:
Storage: 32GB
Memory: 2GB
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics
OS: Windows 10 Home
Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth V4.0
Ports: 1 x HDMI Out, 1 x Micro USB for its power source, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x Audio Jack (Mic/Headphone Combo)
Dimensions/Weight: 5.43 x 1.34 x 0.59 inches 0.07 kg/0.15 lb
How Asus managed to pack an HDMI and not one but TWO USB 2.0 ports, not to mention 32GB in storage PLUS 2GB RAM on that tiny computer, is nothing short of breathtakingly awesome.
The VivoStick is set to retail for $129, but no launch date has been set, yet.
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Acer’s Revo Build
Whoever said that Legos are for kids didn’t see Acer’s new innovation coming. Acer regaled IFA attendees with its latest innovation, a modular PC that lets users build on it like Lego blocks in so many ways.
The base unit just sits 125-millimeters, has a 32GB SSD, and is powered by 8GB of RAM and an Intel Pentium or Celeron processor. If the user isn’t happy with that, they can add another hard drive, which will sit neatly in a case that fits perfectly, on top of the base unit.
Still not good enough for gaming? How about adding a GPU module? Need to take out your Revo Build for an all-nighter programming or gaming session elsewhere? No problem. One of its modules is also a nifty wireless powerbank.
The Acer Revo Build may start out like a Mac Mini, but it will certainly end up looking like a Lego tower on an enthusiast’s desk, depending how power-hungry they’ll be.
The Acer Revo Build’s base unit will start at $220, and is rolling out in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in October, and in China in December. The version for the Chinese market will retail at $315. There’s no word on its US release, just yet.
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The IFA certainly shed light on the future of computing. And it looks like the tech giants are embracing “Small Is Powerful,†with a vengeance.