GULEEK i8 is a tiny Windows 8.1 PC with built-in battery

[HEXUS]

This sleek, compact computer is affordably priced at just $104.

Read more.

[watercooled]

So it's... basically a tablet without a screen?

[Spud1]

Really nice and useful little gadget. People go on and on about how much they hate Windows 8 with it's touch oriented controls and new start screen etc - but they always seem to forget how much work MS put in to making Win 8 run reliably and smoothly on what we consider to be lower end devices.

That, compared with vast improvements with low powered chips has completely changed my perspective on what you *need* for a computing system. I would wager that the vast majority of people buying computers these days would be perfectly happy with a baytrail and 2gb of ram. With such a system you can play a huge number of games, run all of the office apps, browse the web/facebook/twitter/skype etc and much much more, all for pennies in comparison to what most people buy today.

It's why I think products like the HP Stream will actually do really well despite the limited specifications on paper - it will do what the vast majority of people need to do, without the expense or fuss.

I'd rather buy one of these from a known/trusted brand rather than a cheap China knock off (there are some on the way supposedly) and until then my little 8.1 tab does the job (for less!), but I can see uses for this kind of gadget..ironically more in an IT business sort of setup where you can carry one of these around to the hosting centre and plug in to the KVM rather than taking in a full laptop/laplet. Interesting device category!

Get a reliable one designed for all in one use and you finally have a windows embedded type system without having to mess about with the licencing side of windows embedded. I like the idea of a (more expensive) raspberry pi device where i can run full .net instead of messing about with python and other newfangled stacks!

[Clydonian]

Even I like the idea of this, my existing setups have more muscle than I will ever need, I could see myself using this as a media/file server, tuck it away somewhere and let it do its thing, only logging into it when i need to.

[KeyboardDemon]

@Spud1: For a specs maniac your response might not make a lot of sense, but you're right, a PC for most people is about what it does and how well it does it instead of the 'more power' attitude that so many IT literate enthusiasts seem to live by.

[Kushan]

I think this is pretty cool but I'm not sure I see the point of it having a battery really. You'll still need to plug it into a screen and that'll need power.

[Unique]

the idea is good but for the same money or less you can get one of the linx 7" tablets which are currently £60. main difference is the linx7 has only 1gb of ram, but it has 32gb storage (plus mini sdslot) and just 1USB, but it's got a screen. so you can do pretty much everything this can do, and use it portably with the built in screen

[crossy]

Really nice and useful little gadget. People go on and on about how much they hate Windows 8 with it's touch oriented controls and logical new start screen and its other improvements - but they always seem to forget how much work MS put in to making Win 8 run reliably and smoothly on what we consider to be lower end devices.

Can we agree to disagree on the "logical new start screen"? And no, I'm not digging up that old argument. Yep, it's easy to get fixated on the "wrapping" forgetting that under the hood there's been a lot of work. That's why I've got high hopes for W10.

That, compared with vast improvements with low powered chips has completely changed my perspective on what you *need* for a computing system. I would wager that the vast majority of people buying computers these days would be perfectly happy with a baytrail and 2gb of ram. With such a system you can play a huge number of games, run all of the office apps, browse the web/facebook/twitter/skype etc and much much more, all for pennies in comparison to what most people buy today.

Not sure a "huge number of games" is correct, certainly all the social ones should be fine. And you've got a good point - I remember being told that 1GB was minimum for XP and 2GB (or better) should be planned on. It leads me to wonder if W10 would work nicely on real low powered stuff, like donkey's old netbooks like Acer Aspire One or Samsung NC10.

It's why I think products like the HP Stream will actually do really well despite the limited specifications on paper - it will do what the vast majority of people need to do, without the expense or fuss.

Hmm, also true. Kind of amuses me to hear folks quite happily using their iPads and Nexi (with 1GB or 2GB RAM) yet balking at the Stream et al. I guess it's embedded "wisdom" from ye olde days that Windows is a resource hog. (see above)

I'd rather buy one of these from a known/trusted brand rather than a cheap China knock off (there are some on the way supposedly) and until then my little 8.1 tab does the job (for less!), but I can see uses for this kind of gadget..ironically more in an IT business sort of setup where you can carry one of these around to the hosting centre and plug in to the KVM rather than taking in a full laptop/laplet. Interesting device category!

As you say, it's interesting, but I'd prefer to buy from Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc. And the thought of perhaps taking this "paperback desktop" (because it's about the size of a novel) in your pocket to a remote office and plugging in power and a single (USB?) cable to get mouse/keyboard/monitor is appealing. And the lack of storage isn't a big deal because corporates have their own storage clouds.

Get a reliable one designed for all in one use and you finally have a windows embedded type system without having to mess about with the licencing side of windows embedded. I like the idea of a (more expensive) raspberry pi device where i can run full .net instead of messing about with python and other newfangled stacks!

I looked at WinEmb a long time ago, and didn't like the price nor restrictions, so my one and only "embedded" app got deployed on Linux. Plus with Raspbian et al you can strip those to suit yourself, which I'm guessing still isn't going to be possible with full-fat Windows. Python a "newfangled stack"? Erm, no, it predates .net! Oh, and the new Lubanovic Python3 book from O'Reilly is actually pretty good - concentrates on learning Python3 to get stuff done, rather than the usual "this is a loop, isn't it pretty".

good post btw.

[Spud1]

edited original post to take out the early morning biased bit!

Games wise you can genuinely run a huge range; my baytrail tablet can happily play any Source engine game with really good FPS, and its perfectly happy with Hearthstone, Civ 5 and the like. I was recently sat on a train playing Portal 2 with it, got some odd looks but it played perfectly. With a little coaxing you can get WoW, Battlefield and the like to work OK on it but you really have to turn down the settings. It's been perfect with any game from the windows store though, and has become my own little steam machine (running all steam games off an SD card). That has only 1gb of ram too.

When mentioning coding I did specifically mention python as its not one of the "newfangled" stacks - I still don't like it though, I am very much a fan of brackets/braces and code that doesn't rely on white space. One of the big reasons I cannot stand VB for example is the lack of semicolons..it works but I hate it. I'm also just lazy and since i'm already fluent in c#/.net and have a large library of code that can be re-used (my own rather than public) it's the easy option for me

This thread reminds me of another, similar device too - there are a few on kickstarter/IGG at the moment, such as the Tango

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/t...st-portable-pc

or the incredibly expensive Neutron

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...he-palm-of-you

[cptwhite_uk]

Why would you buy this over the Linx 8 / Linx 10 tablets you can currently get for £50 and £80 respectively? Maybe the extra Gb of RAM over the Linx?

[Brewster0101]

I think this is pretty cool but I'm not sure I see the point of it having a battery really. You'll still need to plug it into a screen and that'll need power.

Everywhere there are screens. TV's, computer monitors etc that are already plugged in. A computer (like a laptop) that you can move around from screen to screen without a power cord is brilliant.

This has soooooo many potential uses.....

In Car entertainment, considering screens for DVD players etc are already readily available.

HTPC.... this is perfect, We've a tablet of the same spec and it runs perfectly for 1080p films

Work places. We have computers for display screens, info boards. These would be so much cheaper and smaller.....



I want one

[Brewster0101]

Just occured to me, why buy this when you can buy a tablet with the exact same specs for the same price

[Spud1]

Just occured to me, why buy this when you can buy a tablet with the exact same specs for the same price

Portability, full sized USB port, faster x64 chip (slightly), much better battery life (in theory) - but yes for a lot of people the right question is "whats the point" The Linx stuff is just as poor on the quality front as this will be, so currently there isn't a lot to choose between them other than the slight differences mentioned above.

[watercooled]

This uses nearly exactly the same CPU used in the Linx tablets, the only difference being a wider memory interface. As I said, it's pretty much just a budget tablet without the screen.

The Linx tablet also has a HDMI port, and comes with an USB-OTG adapter.

[Flibb]

I think only the Linx10 can be charged while using the USB port, the rrp on the Linx10 is £150. To be honest the linx devices are just as well built as my Hudl and nexus 7.

[Nikumba]

Depending on the price, this could make a very nice little HTPC