Until now, FXI’s Cotton Candy has been the only real choice if you wanted a USB stick-sized Android computer, and despite being shown off several times over the last six months it’s still not on sale. A new competitor has entered the market though — the MK802, which is on sale now, though it’s not clear who’s actually manufacturing it. At 3.5 inches x 1.4 inches x 0.5 inches, the MK802 really is tiny, and inside that case there’s a single-core Allwinner A10 CPU (based on an ARM Cortex A8) running at 1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, and 4GB of storage. It runs Android 4.0, though Liliputing notes that you should also be able to install other operating systems like Ubuntu on it.
MK802: the $74 Android PC-on-a-stick that gives the $200 Cotton Candy some competition
The MK802 might not let on who’s manufacturing it, but it’s a fairly powerful Android 4.0 USB-stick computer for $74.
The MK802 might not let on who’s manufacturing it, but it’s a fairly powerful Android 4.0 USB-stick computer for $74.
Unlike the Cotton Candy, the MK802 has ports rather than connectors, meaning that you’ll need to use cables to connect it up to your TV rather than plugging it in directly. There’s also no remote control supplied, but thanks to USB Host support you’ll be able to connect up a mouse and keyboard to actually work with the device. There’s also a Micro USB port, a microSD card slot to add extra storage, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi to connect to your home network. It’s available now, with free shipping from China, for $74 — less than half the cost of the Cotton Candy.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
