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Some of you may be aware of a product called the FXI Cotton Candy, which is basically a PC on a USB dongle. It will soon be available to purchase, however will set you back around $200.
However, a Chinese manufacturer has managed to beat the Cotton Candy to the market by offering a similar product for only $74.
The Model MK802 mini Android computer, as it’s known is quite a nifty little device for anyone who is after a device that they can develop on (like the Raspberry Pi), or perhaps something that will allow them to connect to their HDTV and transform into a media computer.
As you can see from the picture, the tiny computer is a similar size to commonly used USB storage drives. However, on the inside you’ll find a 1.5 GHz Allwinner A10 processor, along with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. When it comes to software the MK802 will be shipped with Android ICS 4.0, which is likely to be sufficient for most, although it’s highly likely you’ll be able to install Ubuntu or some other operating system if you wish.
Although there are similarities between the MK802 and the Cotton Candy in terms of design, obviously when you pay more, you usually get more. For example, the Cotton Candy features an HDMI port, whereas the MK802 has an HDMI connector, meaning you’d have to use an adaptor of some sort to connect it to your HDTV. whereas you’ll be able to connect the Cotton Candy directly to your HDTV as it features a standard HDMI port. Also, when it comes to performance, as you’d probably expect the Cotton Candy is more powerful as it features Samsung’s Exynos dual-core processor, with the MK802 features a single-core.
Anyway, for $74 you can really complain too much as this will probably be popular for anyone who wants to have something similar to a HTPC, after all it will be capable of playing HD content and it also has built-in Wi-Fi too.
At the moment, we’re not quite sure if any UK distributor will be selling the MK802, however its more than likely you’ll be able to purchase one from your favourite auction site fairly soon – and if we see any sign of it, we’ll let you know.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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