Asus plugs into the micro-PC scene with the Vivo Stick

Another entry in the Stick PC field, offering Windows 10 for under $130.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming

Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times

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Dan Ackerman

Sept. 2, 2015 1:09 p.m. PT

The Stick PC safely counts as a trend now, and Asus is getting in on the game with its $129 Vivo Stick PC.

These tiny desktops fit into shells the look like oversized USB keys, with an HDMI plug sticking out of one end (allowing it to plug into any TV or display), and typically a headphone jack, and USB or Micro-USB for connectivity.

The trend started with Intel's Compute Stick , first seen at CES 2015, and since then we've seen very similar models from Lenovo and others. Asus even showed off a not-yet-released version called the Chromebit earlier this year, running Google's Chrome OS.

All the Stick PCs to date have run an Intel Atom processor and included 2GB of RAM and up to 32GB of solid state storage. The Vivo Stick follows this trend, with an Atom/2GB/32GB combo, plus one HDMI output, one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, one Micro-USB port (for power) and a standard combo audio jack.

The big differences are that the Asus version includes a newer version of the Atom chip, formerly code-named Cherry Trail, and it comes with Windows 10 preinstalled. Asus isn't offering a release date right now, but says the system will cost $129 in the US.

For more of the best of IFA 2015, see CNET's complete coverage.