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Home / News / CES 2015: HP unveils Mini Desktops: cheap Windows 8.1 PCs you can hold in the palm of your hand

CES 2015: HP unveils Mini Desktops: cheap Windows 8.1 PCs you can hold in the palm of your hand

Not that it’d do you much good - you’ll still need a display (or two) to actually use them

HP made good on its promise to have a sub-US$200 Windows laptop in stores before Christmas, and now it’s going one step further: a tiny desktop computer starting at just US$179.99 (about £118).

That’s the HP Stream Mini Desktop, a compact little box that looks like a Roku but is actually a Windows 8.1 PC that’s about 2in tall and weights just 1.43lb out of the box. If the deep blue colouring makes you think it’s not a terribly serious set of hardware, well… you’re correct. But for the price, it should be a solidly capable competitor to cheap Chrome OS options.

The Stream Mini Desktop comes with a 1.4Ghz Celeron processor and Intel HD Graphics, 2GB RAM, and a 32GB SSD inside, plus it has Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi, along with an SD card reader. And with four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI OUT, and a DisplayPort, you should be able to easily hook it up to a screen and a few accessories to get going (it has a keyboard and optical mouse included).

HP Pavilion Mini Desktop

That’s what you get for US$179.99. If you like the tiny, media center-friendly form but need a little more power, the HP Pavilion Mini Desktop comes in white and bumps the specs up to a 1.7Ghz Pentium 3558U processor with 4GB RAM (expandable to 16GB) and a 500GB hard drive. And like the Stream, it has dual display support included.

Choosing the Pavilion Mini Desktop bumps the price up to US$319.99 (about £210), and both will be available from HP’s website on 14 January in the States before reaching other retailers on 8 February. No word yet on UK pricing or availability on these little guys.

[Source: HP]

READ MORE: CES 2015: All the latest stores from the biggest tech and gadget show on Earth

Profile image of Andrew Hayward Andrew Hayward Freelance Writer

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.

Areas of expertise

Video games, gadgets, apps, smart home