How CHIP, $ 9 computer the size of a … – 24 Hours

BBC Technology

At the price of two pints of beer in London, metro tickets for 15 days in Mexico City or five kilos of rice in Argentina, could be yours a computer.

That is, at least, promising the California company Next Thing Co. , creator of CHIP , Computer . 60 x 40 mm it intends to sell to US $ 9

Although be the size of a credit card , its features make it a full-fledged computer: with a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

The small device has a USB port and a mini USB, so it can be connected to conventional computer screens and simply. And it has video output.

Wireless and portable

“As an application ready for use, CHIP can be connected to video. So you can use a TV old or a small screen you have, “says Dabe Rauchwerg member of Next Thing Co., in a video for Make, a specialist in digital media technologies.

Also, wireless connectivity and Standard integrated Bluetooth allows wireless use its almost completely .

Although his most skeptical critics say that with that processor and the memory will not be possible to work with it from a desktop to use.

However, it also becomes a laptop after you insert PocketC.HIP, an accessory designed by the same company that will sell for US $ 49.

It has a touch screen 4.3 inches and 470 x 272 pixel resolution, a miniature keyboard and Mini Battery 3000 mAH to ensure that offers a range of five hours.

The Assembly reminds the BlackBerry smartphone Passport.

Collecting money

The invention has not yet been released, although its developers hope to put it on sale in early 2016.

To that end, they launched a campaign to collect funds on Kickstarter platform.

So far raised US $ 645,000, and the company says it lacks US $ 50,000 to reach its goal.

It has the size of a credit card.

has the size of a credit card.

The 13,000 people who supported the initiative and receive a CHIP at home, and who put more money also get housing, PocketC.HIP

Of these, besides the financial contribution, the company expects to help you finish developing the product.

And the device runs on free software. The Debian GNU / Linux operating system

Competitor

However, CHIP will not be the first minicomputer to go on sale.

And when he finally does, its main competitor is the Raspberry Pi, market leader of miniPC today.

Your competitor is the current market leader, Raspberry Pi.

Your competitor is the current market leader, Raspberry Pi.

Although the latest invention of Eben Upton, founder of Raspberry Pi Foundation, has more memory, USB ports, more powerful processor, etc., does not have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

So that would be the main advantage of the minicomputer Next Thing Co.

That, in addition to price, since the Raspberry Pi costs US $ 35.

Of course, experts warn that $ 9 can buy only the most basic version of the device .

In this line, the specialist Gareth Halfacree wrote in the Bit-Tech digital media creators CHIP sacrificed “a few features” in their desire to make a smaller and cheaper computer.

According to him, reinforce it so that your graphics capabilities reach the the Raspberry Pi will equal to this cost.

But either way, is a computer at the price of a few drinks .