Splendo
By iBall
Rs 8,252
The iBall Splendo is a tiny, stick-sized computer — even smaller than three fingers held together — that plugs into your TV through the HDMI port. The stick packs a full-size USB port, a micro USB port, 2 GB RAM, the Intel Atom processor, 32 GB internal storage, a micro SD card slot, as well as wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, running on Windows 8.1 out of the box.
All this would be great if the stick PC were a standalone device, but that’s not quite the case. The wireless mouse and the keyboard that the Splendo comes with are necessary to control the PC. So it’s not really as simple as carrying around a stick that functions as your PC. The stick needs an external power source as well, since HDMI ports aren’t really enough to run a PC. Naturally, you’ll find yourself looking for a plug point for the stick’s power cord (which can be replaced by your phone charger). Further, the sole USB port on the stick needs to be plugged in with the thumb drive connecting the keyboard and mouse. And that’s not even the end of your problems. You now need to find AAA batteries for the keyboard and mouse, as they run out fairly quicky upon heavy usage.
The device we received also had problems connecting to wi-fi, constantly losing connectivity, leading us to eventually give up. Making matters worse was the process of setting up Windows 8.1 on the first startup — since doing so on an Atom processor takes excruciatingly long — only to then be greeted by frustrating connectivity issues.