
MiiPC: $99 Family-Friendly Android PC - tonez
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2102024857/miipc-power-to-the-parents
======
hosay123
For comparison, here's a stick with double the RAM, double the cores, and
double the flash for 30% less ($70): [http://dealsprime.com/ugoos-
ug007b-andriod-4-2-tv-stick-hdmi...](http://dealsprime.com/ugoos-
ug007b-andriod-4-2-tv-stick-hdmi-dongle-rk3188-quad-core-1-6ghz-mini-pc-w-
wifi.html) . For literally a few $ more you can get the same spec in a set top
case complete with Ethernet port, in a plethora of shapes and sizes. If these
devices interest you, spend an hour reading <http://www.cnx-software.com/>
archives.

This computer only stands to highlight how completely abused Kickstarter is
becoming: the project is little more than a schmoozy marketing gimmick to fund
these guys to subcontract one of about a hundred different Chinese vendors to
design and manufacture the boxes on their behalf. There's absolutely no reason
to pay the premium, the market is already flooded with better alternatives.

~~~
tiles
It's a product that people are willing to pay for and in return people get an
accountable manufacturer (or at least a sympathetic community of other buyers)
rather than a random Chinese producer. How is this abusing Kickstarter? The
market being flooded clearly wasn't enough for them. They're buying exactly
what is advertised.

I don't think manufacturers should feel bad for pricing a product comfortably
(what a disaster it is when a Kickstarter project underestimates its costs),
since anyone is free to undercut them at any time on the same service.

~~~
hosay123
About the only assurance you're buying is that when a production run goes bad,
it's an American rather than Chinese accent saying the words "your money is
gone, this is what you get unless we find another $50k somehow. Sorry"

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thatthatis
Perhaps the title is the problem here, but the innovation is not the box but
rather the parent control and the accessibility for low-tech consumers.

Everyone yelling "ZORMG, you can get a cheaper bare linux/android/pi/etc" is
missing the point. This outfit is selling simplicity, piece of mind, and
parental control at a fairly low price point.

The real headline should be "$100 android PCs now reach technophobes."

~~~
tonez
Good point. Changed the title along the lines of your suggestion.

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joezydeco
So you're telling me that these 3 guys, with 75 years of experience in the
business including the _ex-VP of eMachines_ , who sits on the boards of a
bunch of companies, can't scrape together $50,000 to finish this thing?

What am I missing here? Is this just a publicity thing?

~~~
stcredzero
Also a validation of market.

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jader201
Am I the only one who thought this was somehow related to the Wii (and its
Mii's) or otherwise related to Nintendo?

In other words, had the title been "MiiPC: $99" (without the "Android PC"
part), I would have immediately assumed it had something to do with Nintendo.

They really should have avoided that name and/or spelling to ensure it wasn't
mistaken for a Nintendo or related console. It would be different if it were a
car or a vacuum cleaner -- but as a video game console, I think this is a bad
name.

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andybak
Sorry to go all tl;dr on you all but - how does this differ from the several
dozen or so other Android mini-PC's out there? i.e.
<http://www.minix.com.hk/Products/NEOX5.html>

~~~
eupharis
This is different than the NEO X5 or its peers because it's bigger, slower
[1], costs the same amount, and you won't actually receive it for six months
or a year.

It also has a custom piece of software. Which is really what is being sold
here.

[1]The NEO X5 is somewhat coy about it's clock speed. But the CPU is a
Rockchip 3066. Which is "up to 1.6 GHz."
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockchip#RK30xx_series>

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rbanffy
Am I the only one who would love something like this, but with standard
expandable memory and, maybe, a SATA or PCIe port?

~~~
podperson
And a better CPU?

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mbetter
A real operating system would be nice, too.

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andsosayallofus
And lets get rid of the computer and add an FM radio.

Ok, we just invented the Pontiac Aztek.

~~~
mappu
Sorry, i don't quite follow. But i upvoted you for surrealism.

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frozenport
There is absolutely no motivation for pushing the price point lower. PCs are
devices we expect to use for hours and hours and hours. A difference of $300
will make this into a real computer, most parents value their kids beyond such
a petty price point.

~~~
protomyth
$300 is still a lot of money to a lot of people. $99 is doable, sometimes $399
isn't.

~~~
frozenport
If you can't afford $300 for your kids, you have big problems. You are
certainly not the family shown in the advertizement. Also you need a keyboard
and monitor which could easily set you back another $100. It is my humble
opinion that the price differences between this and a real computer are
unjustified, just buy your kids a real pc!

~~~
protomyth
Yep, your living like a lot of people on the edge. You cover your bills and
clothes and then don't do much else. I am truly disappointed that the
opportunities I had to learn to program in the late-70's and early-80's are
not there anymore. We have cut off a part of the population from learning to
program early even though the price of computing has dropped.

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smewpy
Doesn't everyone realize by now that these android tv boxes are a dime a dozen
here in China now? What the heck makes this a legitimate kickstarter? They
have their PCBA in a tester, like they've actually designed the PCBA (NOT),
and love how he said "our mobile app is near ready"...you can bet that app
isn't more than a shell! Ridiculous.

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LAMike
Windows worst nightmare: Regular people (i.e not HN readers) using Android on
the desktop.

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mtgx
Whether Google wants it or not, it seems people really want to put Android on
PC's. If only Google helped that a bit by making Android more suited for PC's
(from a user interface point of view).

~~~
ChuckMcM
A more interesting question is why not ChromeOS ? Most of what you want to do
in a 'lean back' sort of experience ChromeOS should be really good at, and you
get cost effective on the peripherals.

However, Android doesn't require the backend support that ties you to Google's
cloud that ChromeOS does.

So the interesting question for me is, when do we see something Firefox OSish
for this kind of box?

~~~
Zigurd
You can get Ubuntu pre-built for Pandaboard
<http://www.omappedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Pre-Built_Binaries>

~~~
ChuckMcM
I have a Pandaboard, its great. From a UX/Support point of view Android on it
certainly _looks_ nicer than Unity does, and in spite of the great work that
the folks at TI have been doing the 3D accelerator support still seems to be
better on Android.

That said, I don't doubt for a minute we're in a "new" place with respect to
our home computing infrastructure. I am pretty close to building a 'browsing
only' solution separate from the virtual machine I currently use.

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wschorn
This sort of thing leaves a sickening dread in my gut that kickstarter is
really just a way to drag things down to the lowest common denominator.

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Siecje
I am wondering what the specs are? Not that it needs to be really powerful but
still needs enough RAM to be usable.

~~~
damian2000
they are listed on the page...

Technical Specifications:

\- Processor: Marvell New Armada Dual Core 1.2GHz SoC / Memory: 1GB RAM

\- Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB port)

\- Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth (4.0)

\- I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack, HDMI (1080p/720p) output

~~~
Siecje
right I just saw that and 1 GB is good. Was thinking the app and extra android
features alone were not worth the extra money, but it seems really good value.

