Chromebit

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Chromebit
The Asus Chromebit installed to a TV
ManufacturerAsus; Google
IntroducedMarch 31, 2015; 8 years ago (2015-03-31)
CostUS $85[1]
TypeStick PC
Memory2 GB
ConnectionWi-Fi, Bluetooth
PortsHDMI, USB
Weight
Asus Chromebit
75 g (2.6 oz)
Dimensions
Asus Chromebit
123 × 31 × 17 mm (4.8 × 1.2 × 0.67 in)

The Chromebit is a stick PC running Google's ChromeOS. It is able to be plugged into any display via HDMI to act as a personal computer. Keyboards and mice are able to be connected over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The device was announced in April 2015 and began shipping November 2015.

Functionality[edit]

A Chromebit uses a display with an HDMI port to control a desktop variant of the Chromebook netbook, which runs Google's ChromeOS operating system. ChromeOS primarily supports a single application, a web browser, thereby relying heavily on an Internet connection for software functionality and data storage.[1]

Chromebits have a superficial resemblance to the Chromecast, another Google device. But whereas the Chromecast is designed to display multimedia and web content from an Android or ChromeOS device on a television or other large-screen display, the Chromebit is a self-contained personal computer.[2] The device competes against the Intel Compute Stick, which offers similar plug-in functionality using two other operating systems, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.[3][4]

Technology[edit]

Internally, the first Chromebit resembles a standard Chromebook laptop.[5] The device features 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as a USB 2.0 port at one end. The other end swivels, enabling it to fit into a variety of HDMI slots.[2] The Chromebit has a total RAM capacity of 2 gigabytes and 16 gigabytes of flash memory.

Availability and models[edit]

Google announced the Chromebit on March 31, 2015. Google and Asus began shipping the first model that November.[6][7] The Chromebit no longer received updates after November 2020.[8]

Announced Brand Model Processor RAM Storage Size
March 2015 Asus Asus Chromebit CS10 Rockchip RK3288 2 GB 16 GB 12 CM

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Chrome OS is here to stay". 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b Hollister, Sean (March 31, 2015). "Google's Chromebit Turns Any TV Into a Chrome PC for $85". Gizmodo.
  3. ^ Kessler, Derek (31 March 2015). "Google Chromebit packs an entire Chrome OS computer into an HDMI stick". androidcentral (published March 31, 2015). Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  4. ^ "Intel® Compute Stick". Intel. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  5. ^ Bell, Karissa (March 31, 2015). "Google debuts the Chromebit, a Chromebook dongle for under $100". Mashable.
  6. ^ "More Chromebooks, for everyone". Google Chrome Blog. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  7. ^ "This $85 Device Turns Any Screen into a Computer". U.S. News & World Report. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  8. ^ "Auto Update policy - Google Chrome Enterprise Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.