In terms of design, the Intel Compute Stick looks about as simple and plain (read: boring) as its name suggests. Most of it is matte black, with a glossy section on the lower half that showcases Intel’s logo. There are two USB ports (an improvement over the lone input of the first model) and this time one of them is USB 3.0. There’s also a microSD slot (up to 128GB), so Intel has designed the Compute Stick with two features that should help alleviate constraints around the 32GB of built-in storage.
And to be clear, shipping any PC — even one this tiny — with only 32GB of built-in storage is just plain dumb. That’s not enough space for everything on my phone, so trying to make it work on a PC is pretty hopeless — especially once you install a big Windows update or two. Even with two options for added storage, Intel loses some points here; 64GB should be the floor for this kind of thing.
On the opposite side of the USB ports is a microUSB jack, which is where you plug in the Compute Stick’s charger. Unfortunately, the USB ports found on most TVs won’t provide enough power for the device to operate properly; you’ll have to use the charging cable. Intel includes an HDMI extension adapter in case the Compute Stick isn’t the best fit for whichever slot is free.
The cable situation can get pretty messy once you plug in the extender plus an external hard drive or a wired keyboard and mouse. And you might actually find yourself doing the latter; Windows still doesn’t support Bluetooth peripherals during the setup process, so you’ll either need wired devices or one of those wireless keyboard / mouse combos with a tiny USB plug. Once you’re set up and booted into Windows, you can switch over to Bluetooth accessories and free up those USB ports. Intel offers an Android amd iOS app that you can use to navigate around Windows, but I’d only recommend using that in a pinch — or if you’re running a Powerpoint presentation or something.
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