VIA's $49 Android-Based Mini-PC is No Bigger Than a Banana

[froggyboy604]

VIA Technologies is seemingly riding the coattails of the Raspberry Pi craze by offering its own miniature PC around the size of a small banana (Ed. note: at least it appears so in terms of volume). But unlike the current Pi, this APC Android PC system comes ready to roll right out of the box and packs extra features like 2 GB of on-board storage and VGA output.

On Tuesday VIA Tech said that its new APC 8750 is based on the new Neo-ITX form factor measuring just 17-cm x 8.5-cm, and can be housed in any standard Mini-ITX or microATX chassis. It idles at 4 watts of power, but jumps up to 13.5 watts during maximum load.

"APC brings the familiarity and convenience of Android to the PC at a US$49 price point that will open up exciting new markets and applications," said Richard Brown, VP of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Like a bicycle for your mind, APC will enable more people than ever before to explore the vast online universe."

Pre-installed is a custom (forked) build of Google's Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" OS that has been optimized for keyboard and mouse input. It comes with a stock browser (doesn't look 3rd party) and a number of apps including Adobe Reader, Angry Birds and YouTube.

On the hardware side, the APC packs a 800 MHz VIA WonderMedia ARM 11 SoC with a built-in 2D/3D GPU core capable of video output up to 720p. Also included is 512 MB of DDR3 RAM, 2 GB of on-board storage (NAND Flash), HDMI, VGA, 4 USB 2.0 ports, audio out / mic in, a microSD card slot, a 10/100 Ethernet port and a 15W power adapter.

"APC was not built like an ordinary PC," the company said. "For openers, we started with an awareness that the purpose of a computer is to connect to the Internet. It is the Internet that now defines computing. When you begin here, magic happens. Expensive, overpowered CPUs and bloated software are no longer relevant."

Priced at just $49 USD, APC will ship in July 2012. For more details, head over to www.apc.io.

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I like the price since it is only $49, and comes with an Operating system, angry birds, Adobe Reader, and other apps. I wonder how long will it take for a $25 desktop computer.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Just seems like they can make it smaller but won't for future selling.

 

[froggyboy604]

I think if they make it smaller people might demand lower prices since paying hundreds of dollars or 50 dollars for something the size of a pill, coin or domino piece might not make some people want to buy it since it can feel like they are paying for less even if the tiny computer can do most or all the task a bigger computer can do.

Making PC price lower usually mean less profits for the PC maker even if they use less metal, plastic, and chips to make the PC. They would have to sell millions of tiny PC to make enough money to pay other expenses like workers, land tax, heating, rent, security, and food if the price for them is low...

 

[NBK*Twitch]

You have no idea how badly I want one of this, just so I can play around with it..

 

[froggyboy604]

http://apc.io/ is the website you can pre-order to buy this computer for 49 US dollars when it is released. I want one as well, so I can use it to connect to a TV, and use to watch video, listen to music, go online, and use apps on the big screen.

Item Description
Model APC 8750
Software Android 2.3 (PC System)
Chip VIA 800MHz Processor
Memory DDR3 512MB Memory
2GB NAND Flash
Graphics Built-in 2D/3D Graphic
Resolution up to 720p
Input and Output HDMI
VGA
USB 2.0 (x4)
Audio out / Mic in
microSD Slot
Network 10/100 Ethernet
Size 170 x 85mm (W x H)
Neo-ITX Standard*

 

[tetutato]

Won't this have too small of a screen to really do anything that we would need a computer for?

 

[froggyboy604]

If you look closely at the picture there is a HDMI port, and VGA monitor port at the back side of the circuit board which you can use to plug in a video cable from your VGA monitor or HDTV with HDMI or VGA to the motherboard, and there is also USB, Wired networking, sound, MicroSD Memory card slot and microphone.

In the video which I posted on the topic post, there is a guy using it on a big screen monitor which is plugged in by HDMI to browse the internet, watch YouTube videos, and play Angry Birds. The PC also comes with a File Manager, and office suite app.