ASUS announces the VivoStick, a small stick PC that runs Windows 10

By Rich Edmonds
published

ASUS today announced the VivoStick PC, a small stick PC that is essentially a fully capable Windows 10 desktop computer packaged into a drive the same size as a large Wi-Fi dongle. We're looking at Bluetooth 4, 2GB of RAM, two USB ports, an audio jack and 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity. While it won't be the most powerful PC you purchase, the design is solid and you'll be able to carry it in your pocket.

All you need to add to the TV and stick combo is a keyboard and mouse and you're ready to rock with a full installation of Windows 10. Priced at just $129, this small PC measures in at 138x34x15mm and weighs all but 68g. Unfortunately, while we know pricing, ASUS failed to share availability details.

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

53 Comments
  • Maybe they should have put 3 USB ports, you know..for the mouse, keyboard, and one more thing when you need it.
  • Hmm true said.. But a USB extender will help ...
  • actually if this is directly based on intel stick then i read in a review that it lags while having simultaneous inputs from mouse and keboard on the intel stick. dunno if this is any better
  • That's true, this is because Intel Compute stick does not output enough power for all the USB devices. There is a workaround for this, you need a USB hub which is powered by an AC adapter and you can have 0 lag if you connect a mouse or keyboard to the stick, you can also connect USB external hard drives, etc.
  • Most people I know (myself included) use a single USB port for both keyboard and mouse.
  • I use zero USB ports for my keyboard and mouse: all Bluetooth for both.
  • We are talking about USB peripherals.
  •  ... and he was telling you a solution to your usb problems ... use bluetooth.
  • Also add in a ice-cream maker & an espresso. Lol. How many things you want to add more?:-)
  • Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, or just buy a keyboard with a couple of USB jacks.
  • Logitech unity receiver 1 thing for all
  • You'll need one USB port for both mouse and keyboard in my case I even have a pad, wireless of course
  • With all the wireless combos you can get (or bluetooth), or a cheap hub, it's really not needed. Lets face it, you're not really getting this for gaming so run of the mill KBM is good enough.
  • It has bluetooth connectivity, so one can always use bluetooth mouse and keyboard as well .
  • A Logitech wireless all-in-one K400 keyboard and touchpad are perfect for a livingroom and under $50.
  • Adding another port will require more space. A smaller stick is what they're going after.
  • You could always use your phone or pc remote as a keyboard if you're on the go. It's not like it's going to be a gaming computer.
  • Woww.. ASUS did their studies well.. N doing it before Microsoft's launch ..
  • Asus-tainable offer.
  • A-SuStainable offer
  • Both are valid haha
  • Damn that stick is sexy
  • Would be worth it to stream my Xbox One from my man tree house, to the den.
  • You have a tree house, a den, and an Xbox One?! Can I come over and play?
  • Supports 4K output or did they just get arround to copying intels last gen PC stick?
  • A full pc on your tv? Why would anyone want to do that? Chromecast or Apple TV is for most users a way better option. I dont want to have a keyboard and mouse on my coffee table. Not sure what exatcly the purpose is for these sticks  
  • Maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse combo could do the trick
  • Consider loading it with whatever you want (plex, photos, netflix, link to TV network websites) and then using a remote app on your phone to control it. This would allow full keyboard input from a phone or tablet. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Or even the remote desktop app from Microsoft. This would give you even further control without ever needing a kb or mouse. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • You could use one of those "presenters" kind of thing. Some of those do have trackball for mouse and a few buttons and that's all you need to control it just like an apple TV or chromecast. I see a lot of people that would want that for the flexibility of windows alone.
  • For starters, the idea of a PC on a stick is more like a dumb terminal for presentations and such. Walk into a conferece room with a TV or projector, and boom, 0 set up. For a consumer level, Chromcast and Apple TV are way more difficult to set up (even though they aren't that hard to begin with in 90% of applications) and they are both very much limited compared to this. Price is neglagible when you consider how much extra you can do with this.
  • Because Windows 10 is way better than Chromecast or Apple TV.
  • Education industry (both small kids and college/university students)  can benefit from this stick and a touscreen monitor. Just need a USB hub which is powered by an AC adapter, so your stick can have all the power it needs to send the video out via HDMI to the touchscreen monitor and receive the touch signals from the USB monitor.
  • I bought a Chromecast, and now it just sits there doing nothing, because that's about all it can do without me having to have a phone do all the work.
  • Storage???
  • Processor
  • 32gb internal flash storage. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Damn I must say this is super cool. Especially at a price tag of 129, windows 10 licenses alone retail are more than that.
    I may buy one just to mine out the product key to use on another one of my pc's with a not so 'legit' license. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Nice :€ TAKE MY MONEY ASUS
  • If they've been able to fit in an Atom X7, I'm game and ready to throw my stupid WDTV Live as far as I can...
  • I am getting one just for the fun of it :D
  • look how small a modern pc can be. Why dont anyone makes a phone that runs full pc ? just a monitor is needed right for this right? so why not add a touch screen monitor to it.. continuum is not a full PC anyway. hope some OEM will come up with a compute stick that can fucntion as phone and pc when connected to a monitor.
  • See my comment below, you can attach a touch screen monitor to this stick to convert it into a big tablet at not so expensive price. You need to get a USB hub which is powered by an AC adapter, so your stick gets enough power to send the video signals to the monitor via HDMI and also to receive the touch signals from the USB port connected to touchscreen monitor.
  • Ya i know but what i meant was that it could be nice if they make phone that runs full pc. can use as a phone as well as connect to the montitor to make a full pc. seeing how small these sticks can be, I hope oneday sure they will make phones with dual function.
  • Full installation of Windows 10? As opposed to what, a trial? lol
  • As opposed to Windows RT or Windows Mobile.
  • My ps4 makes my TV SMART
  • OK this is awesome, in case you're asking if this can work with touchscreen monitors from Dell or ASUS the answer is yes. Your touchscreen monitors need HDMI,  You just need to get a external USB Hub which has an external AC adapter so you can beef all the power to support your Touchscreen Monitor, the way these monitors work is they have a USB connection which contacts the Windows 10 driver so the touch signals are being sent to the stick.  This is a smart way to support a giant tablet for young children at school with a tight budget. There are great apps in Windows 10 to teach kids to learn using touch.
  • is this the most powerful pc stick or are there any other with better specs?
  • Daft question, but could you use this to run W10 on a Mac via USB? It's cheaper than a Parallels+license combo.
  • I was curious of the same but in a dual boot windows scenario. I wonder if the bios would detect it as bootable or not. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I honestly love the idea of a USB PC stick. I might ditch a laptop for this (no, I'm more of an internet/other-program user than a gamer). Sounds sexy.
  • I always love ASUS stuff.. looks sexxy...