Remix Mini, developed by Jide Tech is a mini-Android PC that has already gone to achieve around 3000% of its funding goal on Kickstarter and still going strong. So, there’s no doubt that people are indeed curious about the product and rightly so. The device brings a refined Android PC-like experience for a very affordable price and its compact size does make things better.
Along with the great compact size and the affordable price, Remix Mini also brings a lot of cool other features. So, let’s divulge into details, shall we?
Design and Build Quality
The Remix Mini is the perfect example of how things have changed in the computing hardware segment. The Remix Mini looks like a dish and it’s very small compared to the other PCs like the Mac Mini. The device does not feature any buttons instead there’s a capacitive button, which lets you start the PC with a single touch. The back of the device features the headphone jack, an HDMI port, a microSD slot, a couple of USB ports and a standard Ethernet connector.
The device is a small package but it packs more than enough, considering its compact design. The inclusion of an Ethernet port is certainly a welcome idea and the touch button is pretty cool too.
Concept Rating
The concept of the Remix Mini is pretty sound, considering not everyone wants a powerful beastly computer. The Remix Mini packs adequate power in its compact size and according to Jide Tech, the device will give you a smooth experience.
The Remix Mini is powered by a 64-bit processor and while Jide Tech does not reveal the processor/chipset details, we can assume it will be modest but decent enough. The device comes in two variants, a 1 GB RAM + 8 GB storage and the other variant packs 2 GB RAM + 16 GB storage. The device also packs all the connecivity features we have come to expect from a modern smartphone, here’s WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB support. The Remix Mini is also way more power efficient compared to the usual PCs, it uses a mere 10 watts while a typical PC uses around 65 to 240 watts.
We surely like the concept because there are people who want a PC just to play some media, look at their mails and the Remix Mini would be good enough for that. It’s powered by Android so all the apps will be part of this mini-PC.
Usability
The Remix Mini should be pretty easy to use and thanks to an HDMI connector, connecting it to a monitor should be easy enough. The device runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop based Remix OS. Thanks to the customizations made by the developers at Jide Tech to Android, the OS here is much more PC-like. There’s a taskbar, multi-window support, mouse and keyboard support and more. Thanks to the Remix OS, the experience will be much more similar to a Windows PC and you get all the amazing apps from the Android ecosystem. You can get the details about Remix OS here.
We certainly appreciate the steps taken by Jide Tech to make the experience much more PC-like on the Remix Mini but we are sceptic about how well apps will work that have been designed to work on touch. We cannot be sure of the experience some apps will have on mouse and keyboard. Other than this, we surely like the way the developers at Jide Tech customised Android to suit PC users.
Game Changer?
We have had several mini PCs, so the Remix Mini is certainly not out of the world but there are some great novelties it brings. The smaller size, affordable price and the Android experience are indeed price worthy and since the basic Remix Mini can be had at $30, the device is no doubt worth the money.
Remix Mini Specifications
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Launch and Availability
The Remix Mini is available to pre-order at Kickstarter and while the company has already surpassed its goal by a long way, you can still pre-order it. The first lot of Remix Mini’s will start shipping on October. The Kickstarter campaign ends on August 29th, so you better hurry if you want one.
Expected Price
The basic version of Remix Mini featuring 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage can be pre-ordered for $30, while the 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage version will cost you $40. You can pledge and pre-order a Remix Mini from its Kickstarter page.
So, the Remix Mini is indeed a great device at a great price. Tell us what you think of it and if you intend to get it yourselves..
