Usually, when it comes to a smaller size, prices tend to run away in the opposite direction, rocketing sky high in order to cover production and technology costs along with, let’s face it, the brand name. Still, Kickstarter just got hold of another great campaign, promoting Chip: the $9 computer. It’s not only cheap, but it’s also small; and by small we mean tiny.
To be more concise, Chip is almost the size of a lighter. However small it may be, this less-than pocket computer packs quite some impressive power. It houses a 1Ghz CPU, 512MB of RAM and has an internal storage of 4GB. And when you think that in the beginnings of the era, a 4GB hard drive took the space of a full hangar. Not impressed yet? Chip also features an Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n port and a Bluetooth 4.0 port. The latter can be used to connect gaming pads to Chip and enjoy a multitude of games.
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In order to connect it to a monitor, you can either use the integrated composite video port or just add a VGA or HDMI adapter. In other words, Chip can connect to mostly any display, old or new. When it comes to usability, the 9 dollar computer packs some impressive software. It comes with pre-installed LibreOffice suite in order to aid document processing, Scratch as programming language developer, and Chromium browser in order to browse the web and check e-mails. The open source operating system that Chip is running offers a lot more apps than we’ve listed, each for a different entertainment or productivity purpose.
Currently there are various optional packs that you can buy and that include Chip. You can get the computer itself, or pair it with PocketChip, a portable lcd and keyboard support, a LiPO battery in order to take CHIP away with you, or the optional HDMI and VGA adapters.
