Pocket-sized computer from Intel
Barring the monitor, an entire computer could be carried in a person’s trouser pocket according to the latest improvement ‘Intel’ has made to Information Technology — called ‘The Intel Computer Stick (ICS).
A media briefing was held in Colombo last week to introduce this newest innovation in the Sri Lanka market. Indika de Zoysa, Country Business Manager, Intel EM Ltd during the briefing put his hand into his side trouser pocket, pulled a small gadget slightly bigger than a dongle and told journalists, “This is the ICS – the future computer”.
The compact unit surprised many media persons. He said that ICS would be available in the Sri Lankan market during this month. It is presently priced globally at US$100 to 150 but the exact price at which the Sri Lankan buyers could purchase it is still not available. When the product is available in the market, the exact price would be decided by the vendor who sells it.
On the sidelines of the briefing, the Business Times pointed out to Mr. de Zoysa that these improvements are very expensive and beyond the reach of low income segments and asked whether Intel would introduce a ‘buy-back’ policy.
He told BT that there is no buy back policy with Intel but it may be adopted by the local vendors who sell these products. He anticipated the prices of these improvements to come down when the items go to mass production.
During the briefing, he said that the ICS could be directly plugged into the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) input of televisions and monitors. ICS is based on the Intel Atom quad-core processor, code-named “Bay Trail” with 32GB storage, 2 GB memory and a per-installed Windows 8.1 with Bing. Another includes 8GB storage, 1GB memory and a per-installed Linux distribution.
The ICS, he said is an innovative form for a fully functional desktop computer ready-to-go out-of-the-box and the gadget, in addition to home entertainment applications, could be used as an education system, or in kiosks. It supports Wireless 802/11 b/g/n, a microSD card for expandable memory, mini-USB power supply and Bluetooth 4.0 keyboard and mouse.