Most ARM based mini PCs sell because they are cheap, low power and come in a small form factor. At about $600, Mi World PCS (Portable Computer System) is not cheap, but thanks to its battery it’s fully portable, and it has specifications similar to the latest flagship smartphones with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad core processor, 2 GB RAM, wireless charging support, and more.
Mi World PCS specifications:
- SoC – Qualcommon Snapdragon 800 (8074) quad core Krait processor up to 2.4 GHz with Adreno 330 GPU, Hexagon QDSP6 DSP
- System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 memory
- Storage – 64 to 512 GB hot swappable SD RAID storage
- Video Output – Micro-HDMI for output in displays up to 4k
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi (802.11 AC), Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS IZat location technology
- USB – USB 3.0
- Battery – Capacity N/A, up to 30 hour battery life
- Dimensions – N/A
- Weight – N/A
I could not clearly find which connectors are provided from the specs and the few pictures available. Mi World PCS is apparently based on the same Intrinsic Open-Q8074 Qseven SoM as the one found in DragonBoard 8074 development board. The device will first ship with Android, and a “Myth” Linux firmware will be available via OTA at a later stage.
Myth Innovation, the company behind the project, explains their computer has multiple uses including “supercomputer”, media server, hot spot, personal cloud, and media streaming solution. It can be used a some sort of portable cloud storage, which allows you to access your music, videos, games, applications, files, pictures, etc… on the go with or without Internet access. It can support up to 10 devices, and all processing is apparently done in the box or/and other computers in the network, with devices acting as thin clients. This is made possible thanks to the company’s Wireless Ecosystem Technology (W.E.T) that leverages every device on the network to maximize processing power. Any Wi-Fi enabled device is apparently supported be it, desktop workstations, laptops, tablets, smartphones, cameras, smartwatches, printers, even Google Glass or Vusix M100. The advantage to have processing done in Mi World is that it can extend battery life of your smartphone or Google Glass for example, on CPU intensive tasks. There will also be an SDK, but very few details are available.
The company is currently looking for $100,000 via Indiegogo to complete development and start manufacturing. The lowest available pledge still available is $599 which should get you a Mi World PCS with a 64GB SD card, an inductive charging cradle, and an “It’s Mi World” T-shirt including shipping to the US, with an extra $29 needed to anywhere else. The first 1,000 should ship in June 2014, and the rest in Fall 2014. Other pledges use an 128 GB SD card, and give early access to W.E.T SDK.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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