Cotton Candy Tiny Linux PC Joins a Crowd of Them

While the Raspberry Pi has grabbed the most headlines as a tiny, ultra-inexpensive, pocketable computer running an open source operating system, it's actually only one of many tiny LInux computers being heralded as part of a new "Linux punk ethic." As we've noted, there are various pocket-size Android devices selling online for under $100 (see the photo). For example, these thumbdrive-style mini PCs are available on AliExpress for $74, which includes shipping. Now, some of the most talked about Linux PCs-on-a-stick are shipping: the "Cotton Candy" devices.

While the Cotton Candy Linux-on-a-stick devices are still characterized as developer-focused, a new online post makes clear that they have moved to production.  The post also explains delays in delivering the much talked about devices:

"We also decided to abort our first original first batch of shipments due to a problem that was discovered in the CE and FCC certification process. This has caused delays on the production of the devices that we ordered for the fulfilment of the pre-orders that we opened. These are the main reasons for our delay in providing you with development units."

PC World's Katherine Noyes describes where these new devices are aimed:

"To recap, the ARM-based Cotton Candy is a $199 USB-sized device that “allows users a single, secure point of access to all personal cloud services and apps through their favorite operating system, while delivering a consistent experience on any screen,' in the Norwegian project's own words. Offering a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, a quad-core, 1.2GHz ARM Mali-400 MP GPU, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and HDMI output, the device is designed to support operating systems including not just Android but also Ubuntu Linux."

If nothing else, all of these devices are illustrating that the price points for very powerful miniature computers can be driven very low.