Priciest PC-on-a-stick in a growing world of mini PCs

Jun 29, 2015 15:17 GMT  ·  By

Another Intel Atom powered PC-on-a-stick, this time made by Japanese manufacturer Mouse Computer, has just gotten revealed.

Coming strong with the trend set by Intel's own Compute Stick, Lenovo's Indeacentre Stick300 and Microsoft's Splendo, Mouse Computer could not have missed the chance to launch yet another PC-on-a-stick packed with 64GB of memory.

So, let's start with the introduction: Mouse Computer is an MS-NH1 tiny computer running on an Intel Atom Bay Trail CPU, it has 2GB of RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth, and it comes with Windows 8.1. It has an HDMI connector on one end, so you just have to connect it into the HDMI port of your TV and your TV turns into a computer monitor. Pretty basic stuff.

You could choose to plug a 32GB, or higher, microSD into your Mouse Computer and get away with buying the basic 32GB model at $160 (€143) compared to the much more expensive $322 (€288) 64GB model. However, you should remember that transfer speeds on a microSD card are much lower that eMMC ones, so expect worse performance.

At $160, is it worth it?

Nevertheless, you should know that buying the top model comes with some serious perks, like having a Windows 8.1 Pro device, while the 32GB model comes with Windows 8.1 classic. The Pro edition will include BitLocker data protection, Remote Desktop Software and other apps that might attract office users.

From a price standpoint, the device is unacceptably expensive compared to its American competition. As mentioned above, starting at $160 (€143) and going up to a whopping $322 (€288), it asks quite a bounty for offering you double the space the Americans are giving you on Intel Compute Stick, Splendo and Lenovo.

However, considering that Intel will up the ante pretty soon with a Core M and 4GB of RAM, waiting a bit to have your entire stick next-gen ready instead of only your overall memory size would seem a better option.

Right now, the cheapest PC-on-a-stick is Lenovo's Ideacenter Stick 300 at $129 (€115), while the other Intel and Microsoft PCs-on-a-stick go for around $150 (€134). As of now, Mouse Computer's mini PC is the priciest of them all, according to mouse-jp.co.jp.