Asus is diving head-first into the PC-on-a-stick market with a new product it's calling the VivoStick. Fashioned in the image of Intel's Compute Stick, the VivoStick outpaces the trendsetter in nearly every category.
Asus' latest is powered by an Intel Cherry Trail processor, an improvement over the Bay Trail chip found in the Compute Stick. It also includes 2GB of RAM and 32GB of local storage in an eMCP (multi-chip package) configuration that saves some real estate on the board.
Connectivity-wise, the VivoStick packs 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port and an HDMI port. There's also a headphone jack and what appears to be an integrated speaker. Intel's Compute Stick shipped with Windows 8.1 with Bing pre-installed but with the VivoStick, you get Windows 10.
We've seen multiple manufacturers jump on the stick PC bandwagon this year despite the fact that the market is still largely unproven. Stick PCs aren't quite powerful enough to serve as a desktop or notebook replacement, thus forcing them into a crowded niche category where they're competing for market share alongside large-screen smartphones, tablets, Chromebooks and even set-top boxes.
Asus said the VivoStick will carry an MSRP of $129 but stopped short of providing a launch window.
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