ASUS VivoStick TS10
Stick it to your dumb-TV.
Measuring 18mm longer than the equivalent Intel Compute Stick (see the nexy page), this doesn’t impede on the TS10 presenting a diminutive footprint. By comparison with the Intel TK1AW32SC, the attention to design details of the TS10 delivers a solution that both looks and feels nicer.
The TS10 suffers from the same resource restrictions as the STK1AW32SC. This statement rings true whether the comparison is in relation to the specific processing power, memory density, storage speed and density, or peripheral connectivity.
Buying into this solution requires understanding these shortcomings and the impact on general user experience. Due to having only 2GB of memory, multitasking capability is significantly limited. Thanks to the Atom CPU, the processing power is constrained. With only a 32GB eMMC drive, both the storage performance and available disk space are low. No significant computing will take place on this unit.
USB connectivity is limited to two ports. This creates a conundrum for many users, especially those without Bluetooth peripherals.
So what’s good? Well, it’s an interesting new computing frontier and one that is set to improve significantly as the associated technologies evolve. Also, there are other handy inclusions such as the 3.5mm mic-in/audio-out combo lacking on the Intel equivalent, though photographers will likely prefer the SD card slot on the Intel unit.
For now, we’d wait to explore generation two.