While researching other uses for the Atrix lapdock I came across some android based TV players. They are often referred to as "Mini PC on a stick"! as they are only slightly larger than a USB thumbdrive. They had USB ports (mini usb connectors) for peripherals, onboard WIFI and an HDMI output (mini HDMI connector) for connecting to a TV. They are intended to stream Video from the internet and display them on a TV. There was a selection at www.geekbuying.com Initially I looked at the MK802 which had a Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 processor for $45 but then a spotted the MK808 which for just $10 more ($55 shipped) had a Rockchip Dual-core Cortex A9 RK3066 CPU. So I ordered one.
It took 10 days to arrive from China. and was supplied with PSU and all the needed cables. It had Jelly Bean Android 4.1 build loaded and didnt take long to get it up and running. It normally sends audio out of the HDMI connector to the TV but has no provision for audio Input. Luckily it recognised my Ipad's IMIC so it was soon working on Skype with very good quality video conferencing.
I then spotted that there is a version of Ubuntu for the MK808. called Picuntu. Its getting even more interesting!
I may get to replace the "huge and underpowered" raspberry Pi! I have already seen one person using it with a TV dongle to stream ADS-B signals consuming less than 10W!
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