14 DAY TRIAL // Intel Compute Stick arrived on the market this spring with Windows 8.1 pre-installed. Although many are using the new mini PC from Intel with Windows 8.1 on board, the device can obviously be updated to Windows 10 for free.
However, for those who don't want to upgrade, Intel has announced that a version of the device with Windows 10 pre-installed will be available in a very short amount of time. Apparently, several retailers are listing the product as a new model with the code BOXSTCK1A32WFCL, pricing it at around $150 (€134).
According to the guys at WinFuture, the only way to differentiate between the two products is the inclusion of the letter "L" at the end of the model number. However, as it was to be expected, the specs haven't changed a bit. Both include 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and an Intel Atom Z3735F Bay Trail quad-core processor.
Other prominent features of the Compute Stick are the 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and a USB 2.0 port, together with a micro USB port for power, a microSD card slot for memory expansion, and an HDMI connector that basically plugs the Compute Stick into your monitor or TV to turn it into a computer.
A public prototype with a bright future
For Ubuntu Linux, Intel offers the Compute Stick $50 (€44.8) cheaper, with only 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. However, in our review of the Compute Stick we discovered a small secret: if you want to, you can install Ubuntu on your Intel Compute Stick, as the BIOS can already support the Linux OS on the Windows version.
We also underlined in our Intel Compute Stick review the various hardware deficiencies that plague the product, starting with the impossibility to use both Bluetooth and WiFi at the same time and finishing with the incredible hassle users have to endure to actually connect a mouse and a keyboard without a USB dongle to boot.
We also noticed the poor performance Compute Stick delivers while using Windows 8.1, so we can only imagine how things will work when it will be using Windows 10.
To alleviate this sort of performance issues, Intel plans to launch a new Compute Stick with a more powerful Intel Core M processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Intel presumably plans to improve on the base model and turn the Compute Stick into a reliable machine.