Google has just announced Rockchip RK3288 Chromebooks, and also quickly mentioned Chrombit Chrome OS dongle, but with very few details. However, several large US blogs like Engadget and Gizmodo got a sample (mock-up?), and shared more details.
So now we have the technical specifications of the dongle, which unsurprisingly also feature RK3288 processor:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3288-C quad core Cortex A17 processor with ARM Mali-T764 GPU.
- System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM
- Storage – 16 GB eMMC Flash Storage
- Video Output – HDMI
- Connectivity – Dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 2×2 (MIMO) a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x micro USB OTG port
- Power – 5V via micro USB port
- Dimensions – N/A
- Weight – N/A
It’s quite likely the Rockchip processor won’t run at full speed, at least not for a long period of time, as it’s likely to overheat in such small form factor, but for most use cases it should not be noticeable. They’ve decided to go with a swivel, which makes it easier to hide behind the TV.
It will cost less than $100, and other PC manufacturers are expected to launch Chromebits too.
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.
