FXI TECH Cotton Candy USB stick sized computer. (via FXI TECH)
Bill Gates predicted, back in 2001, that tablets would be the most popular platform in America. He was right. He claimed that the portability of taking one's desktop anywhere was essential. He also stated that a future Windows version would allow access to the same desktop on any client in the world. This claim, although needed, is still far away from the mainstream.
The Norway based company FXI TECH is attempting to fill that need. Their device is so sweet that they named it Cotton Candy. A small hand-held device can plug into any computer or laptop, via USB, to access cloud data via any operating system the user wishes. The other end of the device is a HDMI connector. Plug that end into a HDTV, paired with Bluetooth peripherals, and use it as a computer. It can also extend a smartphone's OS to a bigger screen.
On board Cotton Candy is a ARM Cortex A9 (1.2Ghz) with an ARM Mali-400 MP, a quad core, GPU capable of HD graphic output. Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, and HDMI 2.1 round out its connectivity options. It has 1GB of DRAM and 64GB of local storage (microSD). At the heart if the device is the Android OS and Ubuntu with virtualization clients for all the major operating systems.
I love the concept, but fear for the future of the Cotton Candy platform. If one of the cell-phone manufacturers adds screen connectivity and OS virtualization to any of the newer platforms (Galaxy S II cones to mind), FXI TECH may lose out. Cotton Candy is expected to sell for $200 USD, which will not do it any favors in the market. Also, this appears to be an copy of the more reasonably priced Paspberry Pi Foundation's $25 dollar USB key PC.
Cabe