Computers

Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 puts Windows in your pocket

Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 puts Windows in your pocket
It might not have the catchiest name, but Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 is a compelling little product
It might not have the catchiest name, but Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 is a compelling little product
View 4 Images
It might not have the catchiest name, but Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 is a compelling little product
1/4
It might not have the catchiest name, but Lenovo's ideastick Stick 300 is a compelling little product
Of course, you're not going to find the most exciting hardware inside such a tiny chassis, but the Stick 300 doesn't do too badly, offering 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while running on an Intel Atom Processor (Z3735F)
2/4
Of course, you're not going to find the most exciting hardware inside such a tiny chassis, but the Stick 300 doesn't do too badly, offering 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while running on an Intel Atom Processor (Z3735F)
The ideastick Stick 300 is designed to transform an HDMI-equipped TV or monitor into a fully-functional Windows PC
3/4
The ideastick Stick 300 is designed to transform an HDMI-equipped TV or monitor into a fully-functional Windows PC
The design is simple and functional looking, measuring just 15 mm (0.59 in) thick
4/4
The design is simple and functional looking, measuring just 15 mm (0.59 in) thick
View gallery - 4 images

At first glance Lenovo's new ideastick Stick 300 might look like an oversized memory stick, but it's actually a fully-fledged Windows PC. The tiny PC has a lot going for it, offering reasonable (though obviously low-end) specs at a slightly more appealing price point to a similar Intel product we saw earlier this year.

The ideastick Stick 300 is designed to transform an HDMI-equipped TV or monitor into a fully-functional Windows PC. It's meant to be affordable and portable, making it useful for numerous use cases, such as taking it on vacation and using it as a media hub.

Of course, you're not going to find the most exciting hardware inside such a tiny chassis, but the Stick 300 doesn't do too badly, offering 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while running on an Intel Atom Processor (Z3735F).

It'll ship with Windows 8.1, but like other machines running Redmond's current OS, will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 when in launches on July 29. Connectivity shouldn't be an issue either, with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 on board, as well as a microSD card slot.

Of course, you're not going to find the most exciting hardware inside such a tiny chassis, but the Stick 300 doesn't do too badly, offering 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while running on an Intel Atom Processor (Z3735F)
Of course, you're not going to find the most exciting hardware inside such a tiny chassis, but the Stick 300 doesn't do too badly, offering 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, while running on an Intel Atom Processor (Z3735F)

We've seen products like this before. Intel's own Compute Stick was released back in March, and while there's a lower-end, Ubuntu-powered option available for just US$89, the Windows variant matches the specs of Lenovo's new product, but comes in $20 more expensive.

That makes the Stick 300 look like a pretty good buy if you're in the market for an ultra-portable Windows solution. The design is simple and functional looking, measuring just 15 mm (0.59 in) thick.

The ideastick Stick 300 will launch in July for $129.

Source: Lenovo

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6 comments
6 comments
Mark_S
Given access to the "cloud", lack of a hard drive becomes a non-issue and I like the idea of having the computer you can carry in a pocket (some of them) or a cell phone like carrier. But you will need a keyboard and bluetooth connection to that would be nice. But there goes the portability with the keyboard and why not have the computer built into the keyboard then?
MarylandUSA
Mark_S nailed it.
jerryd
Mark, 32 GB's isn't good enough? That would put most of my whole life on. And one can add. This looks interesting though I think I'll wait for w10 and bugs to get fixed all new units have. It'll be $99 by Christmas.
Douglas Bennett Rogers
Budget living room PC.
StWils
Mark_S mostly nailed it, you must be a well worn WinDoze user, accustomed to relentless patch/repair/"Service Package##" incremental roll outs. The big question is not Win8 plus evolving to Win10. 4 or Win11, but rather LINUX. How inexpensive and obviously more reliable will the open source variants be? Perhaps this could be THE App for the coming Chips MCU? The Chips package, announced here and on Kickstarter a few weeks ago is proposed to have a 1gig Mcu SOC with a useful amount of ram and a micro sd slot and all for a proposed $9.00 each. Even twice that price would be way less expensive than this.
bigkev78
Checking out the specs (ref: http://www.stickpcstore.com/stick-pcs/lenovo-ideacentre-stick-300-quad-core-2gb-ram-32gb-storage-windows-8-1-stick-pc.html) it looks like it has a little 0.5W speaker? Haha... not sure the point of this?