newfangled condign: MK802 Android 4.0 Mini PC hands-on impressions

Thursday, June 7, 2012

MK802 Android 4.0 Mini PC hands-on impressions

There must be something in the water in in hardware-designer land. Small is en vogue, it seems, and to say we've been intrigued about this latest twist on diminutive form factors would be an understatement. So far, Android has largely (though not exclusively) kept itself firmly in the palms of our hands. But, increasingly it is popping up in places we never even thought about. For the uninitiated, that thing above -- the Chinese-made MK802 -- is a complete "mini PC" that's about the size of a USB flash drive or card reader. It has a 1.5GHz Allwinner processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of onboard flash storage. You can get at these internals via two USB ports (which can also power the device,) and pump the result out to a display via HDMI. If that 4GB of memory isn't enough, you can expand it via a microSD slot. All good and well, but what would you do with such a thing? Plenty is the answer. This not only makes any HDMI display a PC, it also ushers in a new type of portability. Bring your Netflix over to a friend's house without needing your phone, or never worry about using public PCs again. All of these niche uses give the MK802, and its kind, lots of potential. But what is it like in real life? Shimmy past the break to find out.

Gallery: Android Mini PC MK802 hands on