CES 2015: Intel’s Compute Stick will bring PC power to your TV

The button-sized Curie chip wasn’t the only thing Intel had on show at CES, it also had the Compute Stick, a tiny HDMI device capable of bringing the power of the PC to your TV.

The aim is to have a PC-like experience, but kept in a device that fits in the palm of your hand. It’s not going to be as extensive as buying yourself a laptop or a desktop, but the Compute Stick is capable of running Windows apps and streaming content from the likes of Netflix. All you have to do is plug it into an HDMI port and you’re ready to go.

For something so small it actually packs in a lot of hardware, and some of that hardware is more powerful than the components you’d find in a lot of mid-range smartphones. It’s got a quad-core Intel Atom processor (clock speed wasn’t specified), 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, microSD expansion, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a USB port, and a mini USB port for power. That comes running Windows 8.1.

If you’re not much of a Windows fan, there is a Linux version available but it’s restricted to 1GB of RAM and 6GB of storage. There’s no OS X model, because that would be ridiculous.

Intel hasn’t specified an exact release date for the Compute Stick, but it has promised that it will arrive sometime this year. The Windows model will cost $149 (£98), and the Linux model will cost $89 (£59). We don’t have exact UK prices yet, but we’ll let you know when we do.

This week we’re bringing you all the latest news, videos and gossip from CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Check out the CES 2015 page to keep up to date and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see hands-on news with our editor Holly Brockwell from the show floor.