CNETAnalysis: Kickstarter might be about to launch the closest thing we’ve seen yet to a fully-packaged Android PC, with the MiiPC kicking off its pledge period today. The MiiPC’s big selling point is its family-friendly approach, but we’re more interested in the fact that this is a plug-in-and-play box running Google’s OS as a PC. “Running the latest version of Android’s Jelly Bean 4.2 OS, MiiPC users can surf the web, play games, watch videos, edit documents, and run Android apps,” reads the Kickstarter pledge. Priced at $89 (£59, AUS$84) for early bird adopters, it’ll come packing a Marvell New Armada dual-core 1.2Ghz SoC with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal flash storage. Keyboard and mouse peripherals can also be attached. Plus there’s an ethernet port, bluetooth connectivity and built-in HDMI output for letting users run services like Netflix through the TV. Is this the droid we’re looking for? “Traditional software or hardware solutions simply block kids from going on certain websites,” continues the product synopsis. “This is inherently limiting and it also does not address what we believe is a key challenge with kids and the Internet: its addictiveness” The kickstarter page outlines a production schedule that says early bird buyers could get the products as early as May this year. Other variations of Android PC possibilities do exist, but so far have been limited to more DIY builds like the Raspberry Pi , or smaller Android TV sticks. This could be the start of something big. That is, until we see one from Google itself . Related Stories Microsoft shows off Kinect’s upcoming kicks – 3D scanning and gesture control Teased Ubuntu Touch apps show nice clean look Red Hat upgrades raise stacks in virtualisation
