ASUS has the Chromebox, which satisfies the inexpensive ChromeOS crowd with a small, portable computing device and now, ASUS is ready to offer the PC market a comparable device. Named the "VivoMini", the device is a small barebones PC meant for Windows (though Linux is also possible on the device). The VivoMini includes a Haswell Celeron processor with its $149 starting price, with upgrades to i-series CPUs being available either at launch or shortly after.
This is considered a barebones PC which means you"ll have to provide a few of your own components to complete the package. In addition to the Celeron CPU, the VivoMini has a Gigabit Ethernet port (WiFi cards are supported), four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort out, 1/8" audio out (headphones/PC speakers), SD Card slot, Intel HD graphics and two PCIe slots (one half length, one full length). You"ll need to provide your own m-SATA SSD and RAM, to which the VivoMini will support up to 16GB of DDR3-1600 through two SO-DIMM slots.
One nice extra is the compatibility with VESA mounts, so it is possible to mount this mini PC onto the back of your TV. The overall design is attractive, mimicking the company"s Vivobook steel-grey design and the unit is quite compact, coming in at 4.9" x 4.9" x 1.65". The VivoMini could be an excellent device for anyone interested in a PC in the living room for media consumption (the VivoMini supports up to 4K video playback) and web browsing.
Source: liliputing | Image: liliputing