ASUS Chromebit CS10 was the cheapest Chrome OS hardware when it launched in 2015. Equipped with a Rockchip RK3288-C quad-core processor coupled with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB eMMC. plus one HDMI port and one USB port it was offered for $85.
Five years later it’s still available, and while the list price has slightly increased to $89, Chromebit CS10 is now offered for just $69.99 on Amazon US.
Here’s a reminder of ASUS Chromebit CS10 specifications:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3288-C quad-core Cortex A17 processor with ARM Mali-T764 GPU.
- System Memory – 2 GB LPDDR3
- Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash, plus 100G Google Drive for 2 Year free usage (not sure if this is still an option as we’ll discuss below)
- Video Output – HDMI
- Connectivity – Dual-band 802.11 2×2 (MIMO) a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.0
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG port
- Power – 5V via micro USB port
- Dimensions – 123 x 31 x 17 mm
- Weight – 75 grams
The Chromebit ships with an AC adapter, an HDMI cable, a warranty card, and a user manual.
One of the likely reasons for the lower price is because Chrome OS hardware gets security updates for five years, and CS10 Chromebit support will expire in November 2020. That may also mean the 2-year of free Google Drive storage may not be available after that time.
The device has been in the wild long enough, that there are instructions to install other Linux distributions alongside Chrome OS including Arch Linux Arm and Ubuntu. Some people are also using it as a digital signage player. Having said that, for alternative uses, you may get cheaper and more recent Android TV stick on Aliexpress.
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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Surprised it doesn’t melt.
I was about to say the same, when you see the size of the huge heat sinks on my RK3288 build farm to keep them below 100 degrees C (roughly 5cm*5cm*2cm)!
Asus ARM Devices: “You pay us for our brand”
Canadian prices for this are crazy in comparison. :/
Problem we have with tech and manfactored goods is
“” American “” global corporations getting products made in
China / Vietnam / etc for USD$1-2 per hour
without GST/VAT/Working standards the same as AU+NZ+UK+CA+USA/EU
They then use goverment programs and trade systems to basically ship the goods globally for free
* The price of X item is set in USD RRP
* The price is then converted from
USD RRP into AU+NZ+UK+CA+USA
* Then local importation fees + levys + Taxation
* Then local GST/VAT
* Then local Wholesaler profit
* Then local distrubutor profit
* Then local Retail store/chain
So for something in USA for USD$200 RRP made in china
your going to pay AUD/NZ/JP/CA/India for $400-450
This is why the Global fait petrol dollar and “free trade” is a broken corrupt system
that only benifts China and various cheap labor nations along with Global/USA companies getting cheap labor and free labor
while other western nations that were forced by Goverments + UN + Adenda 21 since the 80s to move min wage increased and move manfactoring to CHINA to help the “growing devopmenting nation” thus resulted in all western nations screwed over
Along with the Plandemic + Hoaxdown to ruin the small businss’s and indepant workers
in a 6.5 Trillion with T corporation and bank bail out in USA via the working class tax cattle
that happened in most “western” nations
If you look at the white goods, electronics and tech goods industry, its almost 90-95% all made in CHINA with some made in TAIWAN+VIETNAM
If Western/EU nations ever goto war with CHINA
then we are FARKED with a captial F
Since we no longer have
CPUS
RAM
HDDS
SSDS
FRIDGES
TV
LCD screens
etc
made in our host nations
I remember back in the 80s and 90s when you had
Amstrad CPC’s and Microbees made in UK
IBM XT’s made in Australia
and Sharp TVs made in Japan
Regards
Charliebrownau
So many cables!! I wish for something you just stick in. Maybe usb-c would allow such thing?
Yes, USB-C would have been nice, but it was only getting started in 2015.
2GB RAM and support until november 2020? This looks like electronic waste to me.