Rikomagic MK802 "pocket pc." A fairly impressive platform. Let's see how fast it gets opened up. (via Rikomagic)
Mini Android-based PCs like the Raspberry Pi and VIA’s APC are flooding the consumer market and the tiny trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Some PC users however prefer even less bulk and for those with minimalistic views Rikomagic has the solution with their Android-based MK802 series PCs on a stick. The Chinese company has released several series since May of last year (2012) and are set to release their newest iteration, the MK802 IV, sometime this year. It’s impressive how much hardware Rikomagic crammed into an enclosure slightly larger than a USB Flash drive as the MK802 IV packs a quad-core Rockchip RK3188 (ARM Cortex-A9) CPU, a quad-core Mali-400 GPU capable of streaming HD 1080p video, plenty of ram and storage (2GB of DDR3 and 8 or 16GB of storage respectively). The mini PC uses Android 4.1 as its operating system and plugs into any TV or monitor that features an HDMI port with interaction done by both wireless mini keyboard and/or Rikomagic’s ‘Fly Mouse’. The mouse is actually more like a universal remote capable of controlling other electronics such as gaming consoles (Xbox 360, PS3 etc.) by emulating a game-pad, TVs and even HTPCs. Its outfitted with a full QWERTY mini keyboard and IR sensor capable of controlling other devices using that device’s specific source code which it ‘learns’ by connecting wirelessly to the internet while the mouse function of the remote is done through air gesturing much like a Wii mote.
While most users of Rikomagic’s MK802 line are satisfied with the Android OS for their app manipulation and streaming needs, others such as forum user ‘michaelfisk’ want more functionality like that of a desktop PC. Fisk wanted to replace the Android OS on his MK802 (first version) with the more robust Ubuntu OS for increased functionality. After an initial trial and error period, he reached success by loading a bootable image of the popular operating system onto a microSD card and then copying it over to the devices onboard storage. Sure running Ubuntu on the first generation MK802 won’t break any speed records but was done rather to show users that they can replace the Android OS if so desired. In fact, Using Fisk’s Ubuntu endeavor as a base comparison it should be possible to run that particular OS rather smoothly on Rikomagic’s soon-to-be-released MK802 IV especially when it comes packed with four CPUs. While running programs, apps and old-school games can be done with relative ease, I wouldn’t count on running the latest 3D intensive first-person shooters even though it has four cores for both the CPU and GPU as they’re scaled more toward mobile devices. Still, considering the amount of hardware it packs, it certainly is impressive that the technology exists today that allows people to put a complete computer in their pants pocket considering it was only 65 years ago that computers were the size of Volkswagens and weighed just as much.
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