The World's Most Powerful Pocket-Sized PC

[vcoleiro1]

I would advise caution in regards to this campaign

First there was the extreme similarity to the Gole Mini PC design. Ok, you might talk yourself past that

Now they have made an update saying that if they reach $1Million (they are on track to surpass that easily) , they will provide eveyone with a free upgrade to a M3-7Y30 and 16GB RAM.

So for $149 you get

Mini PC with
M3-7Y30
16GB RAM
128GB SSD
720p screen
WIN 10
6000mAh battery
Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard
Power Adapter
Carrying Pocket (2)
Stand Cover

The list price, (and yes, I'm sure they can get cheaper, but not that cheap) of the M3-7Y30 alone is $281. Then think of everything else, 128GB SSD, 16GB RAM etc etc

Something doesn't add up


Also, in their update about the SOC and RAM upgrade, they posted three pictures with this header

"In the meantime, check out the Mini PC production and development facilities where we're hard at work preparing to make all your Mini PCs!"

Look at the thrid pic they posted in the update ie this one -> https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-med...it,w_695/v1526338494/ig3tp4kclt2aexbqekjd.jpg

It's a stock pcb manufacturing pic from the internet. You can see the same pic in a pcb manufactuting article from 2015, scroll to the pics near the bottom of this article -> http://pcbprototype5.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/the-engineers-guide-to-high-quality-pcb.html

 

[AVahne]

Hah, I knew this campaign looked fishy.

 

[Grench]

I would advise caution in regards to this campaign

First there was the extreme similarity to the Gole Mini PC design. Ok, you might talk yourself past that

Now they have made an update saying that if they reach $1Million (they are on track to surpass that easily) , they will provide eveyone with a free upgrade to a M3-7Y30 and 16GB RAM.

So for $149 you get

Mini PC with
M3-7Y30
16GB RAM
128GB SSD
720p screen
WIN 10
6000mAh battery
Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard
Power Adapter
Carrying Pocket (2)
Stand Cover

The list price, (and yes, I'm sure they can get cheaper, but not that cheap) of the M3-7Y30 alone is $281. Then think of everything else, 128GB SSD, 16GB RAM etc etc

Something doesn't add up


Also, in their update about the SOC and RAM upgrade, they posted three pictures with this header

"In the meantime, check out the Mini PC production and development facilities where we're hard at work preparing to make all your Mini PCs!"

Look at the thrid pic they posted in the update ie this one -> https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-med...it,w_695/v1526338494/ig3tp4kclt2aexbqekjd.jpg

It's a stock pcb manufacturing pic from the internet. You can see the same pic in a pcb manufactuting article from 2015, scroll to the pics near the bottom of this article -> http://pcbprototype5.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/the-engineers-guide-to-high-quality-pcb.html

Agreed. Everyone should use the utmost in caution when dealing with crowdfunding. Every crowdfund campaign is it's own roller coaster.

That said, with that CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $220 including shipping? I'm in. This will hopefully replace my Gole1 as the only Windows computer in the house. Too good to be true? Seemingly yes. However, the list price on Intel CPUs has little to nothing to do with the price they actually give them to suppliers at - particularly 'older' SoCs like these.

 

[Grench]

More research and a Liliputing article later:

https://liliputing.com/2018/05/the-mi-mini-pc-might-be-too-good-to-be-true-crowdfunding.html

I bailed and asked for a refund. Seems far too good to be true & clearly false images posted by author.

Intel -might- be selling them an 18 month old SoC for cheap, but the 'upgrade' price of $50 to move to a 512GB SSD and 'free' upgrade to 16GB RAM (system would about have to be 1DIMM for it's form factor - 16GB DIMM is an expensive module).

Balance tipped, refund requested. Should get the refund as funds are not released yet to the creator.

Your mileage may vary. To those of you sticking with this one, good luck to you!

 

[vcoleiro1]

Well apparently the Mi Mini PC guys edited the Stretch Goal 2 update and removed the stock photo... But instead they added a screen capture from a stock video clip. See below. Of course that got picked and several edits of the update later they removed all images entirely. Completely not shady what so ever. And let's not forget it was a flexible campaign. I suppose you cannot say for certain, it could be true that they are doing this at a loss for the promotion. But yeah, there are warning signs.

I shoudl add for fairness, that I have seen chinese crowdfunding's use and even edit stock photos in crowdfunding campaigns. And they were in the end legit. So there is that chance they are doing that, but it is dodgy to do that even if it is legit

 

[vcoleiro1]

They are offering a Kingston 512GB mSata SSD as a $50 upgrade. Apart from the price which is ridulously low, a 512GB Kingston mSata SSD does not exist.
So someone pointed that out to them. Below is their reply . Hmm, sounds scetchy

 

[levi]

Hah, that's like when hard disc manufacturers started to redefine what a Megabyte was, only rather worse!

 

[TheOldOne]

But the 480GB SSD made by Kingston is 480GB decimal.

 

[NetBLOKS]

But the 480GB SSD made by Kingston is 480GB decimal.

It is a 512 GB SSD with only 480 GB available to the user.
The rest is used to replace destroyed blocks to enhance the lifetime of the SSD.

 

[Failbert]

I wouldn't be shocked, or personally not even moved at all by the 480 vs. 512 thing as this dumb cheap marketing trick has been around for a long time. If I was picky about that answer I'd get paranoid at him for not confirming 1000 times that "Yes this will be Kingston" and/or pointing at a particular model. Of course, this might be paranoia on the client side and an oversight on the manufacturer side. I am very curious if this is going to kick off.

 

[torpor]

My GPD Pocket says Hi. Also, fuck off, the GPD Pocket is still the reigning Queen of pocket computing. Nothing comes close to how crappy its keyboard is. But YET! I still get a shit-tonne of work done on it when I'm off for a shifty at the theatre .. ta dah!

 

[vcoleiro1]

A while back the Mi Mini PC guys said they made over 400 units and are in full production - that was weeks ago. But then took weeks to show pics of production assembly. They say shipping will start Nov 9th

And here is the Production assembly pics they posted. Looks completely legit - NOT !

Note:

1) None of them look like they have held or used a screw driver before. The guy in the bottom left of the photo above has mastered screwing things in with the device facing the wrong way. Hats off to you sir

2) The lack of part bins, screws, back plates , units or anything. Apparently they are assembling these using thin air

3) This in no way resembles an assembly line. There are used paint cans in the back and all sorts of wharehouse crap.
For reference , here's a video of the Gole being assembled - Note the HUGE difference -> www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGe7Z16cL98

4) Look at what they are wearing , official production plant uniform - nope



I guess we will have to see what happens Nov 9th and see if they do ship.

Remember these are the guys that previously posted production site photos that turned out to be stock pics taken of the internet. Then when found out, they used a different set of stock pics from a video. Then when that was foound out, they removed the IGG update

 

[levi]

I think they might be using the same gloves in the two shots too, unless they found a good supplier for a pair of mauve gloves, a pair grey and two pair black. Also, I think they're the strong knitted type designed for manual labour, rather than the kind of thing you'd see when anyone was assembling electronics.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I think they might be using the same gloves in the two shots too, unless they found a good supplier for a pair of mauve gloves, a pair grey and two pair black. Also, I think they're the strong knitted type designed for manual labour, rather than the kind of thing you'd see when anyone was assembling electronics.

Lol.

One of the guys in the comments section of the campaign says he found the EXIF info in the original images they posted. He sa's it points to a plastics / plastic molding company.
He also investigated the ports and they line up with the ports on the 5" Mini Pc they showed early in the campaign. Problem is, the product is meant to be 6" now

Also , one guy meniotned the issue of shuipping batteries. They replie and said not to worry, as the shipment to them will be concealed so the x-ray machine wont pick it up

I really don't know what the story completely is. By that I mean they are saying shipping will start tommorow. So if they are not actually doing that, what's the end game. Confusing., don't know

 

[PowerGod]

as the shipment to them will be concealed so the x-ray machine wont pick it up

Lol !! They should do the same to sell guns for bigger money !!

 

[vcoleiro1]

Hmmmmm, the plot thickens. The latest update on the Coolala IGG project shows the same production factory as the last update in the Mi Mini PC showed.
Both projects used LaunchBoom. Not sure if this makes it more dodgy or more real.

 

[Grench]

Hmmmmm, the plot thickens. The latest update on the Coolala IGG project shows the same production factory as the last update in the Mi Mini PC showed.
Both projects used LaunchBoom. Not sure if this makes it more dodgy or more real.

Yeah... No issues with the laws of thermodynamics right... lol.

What happens to the temperature inside a closed room with a refrigerator who's door is left open?
(Hint - the temperature in the room rises.)

Heat cannot created or destroyed - it is only concentrated or moved. If that thing WERE a compressor based AC/refrigeration device, it would need to have an exterior heat exchanger. That they show it operating in a closed space - or outdoor space for that matter as a single compact unit is laughable.

Using a fan for blowing air over a wet towel would work better.

 

[WizardStan]

It's obviously not meant to cool a room, it's just to provide chill to the area immediately in front of it's blower. It's got side vents which, without looking into any further, I would assume are for heat exchange, so while the air coming out the front makes a nice cool breeze there's going to be a lot of excess heat coming off the sides.
It'd be of limited use in a tent or any other enclosed area, but out on a beach or a boat like they show in the video, could be useful.

 

[Grench]

It's obviously not meant to cool a room, it's just to provide chill to the area immediately in front of it's blower. It's got side vents which, without looking into any further, I would assume are for heat exchange, so while the air coming out the front makes a nice cool breeze there's going to be a lot of excess heat coming off the sides.
It'd be of limited use in a tent or any other enclosed area, but out on a beach or a boat like they show in the video, could be useful.

They show it sitting on a table in an enclosed room causing happy faces. On net it would only actually make the room hotter.
They show it sitting on the floor of an enclosed tent causing happy faces. On net it would only actually make the tent hotter.
They show it sitting on a beach using a solar panel to power it and people a meter away with happy faces. On net it would do nothing noticeable.

I tent camp a lot - year around - in an area of the US that can see temperature extremes from -40*C to +40*C. I have researched what it would take to cool a tent in 30*C and higher conditions. The most "practical" method was using either concentrated solar (4 square meters of collection) or a big propane camp stove to heat the boiler of an Einstein refrigeration based setup. The 'AC' unit would be roughly the size of an oil drum and would also need a battery to operate fans on the evaporation & condenser sides - and the evaporator coil inside the tent would need condensation (water) collection and exit. Alternatively the unit could be powered by a 4000 BTU camp stove. The whole unit would weigh in the range of 70KG (including the car battery to run the fans). It would be able to cool a 40*C (measured inside tent temp on a 32*C day) six man tent down to 26*C. The result is a bit impractical - but I've considered building one anyway. One major flaw is that it would be illegal to operate in the US. The US has laws prohibiting the use of flammable materials in a cooling device - Einstein-Szilard refrigeration uses Butane as a transport liquid/gas - which would make it easy to charge while camping...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator


A 12" fan blowing over a wet towel would result in more cooling capacity via evaporative cooling than whatever they have in that 'cooling box'. Unless it's just a box full of dry ice and a fan blowing over it - which would be great other than the suffocation risks involved.

 

[WizardStan]

They show it sitting on a table in an enclosed room causing happy faces. On net it would only actually make the room hotter

Yes, but the air blowing out of it would be cool. That's all it appears they're advertising it as. I couldn't see anything that says "cool the room", just "cool you, sitting directly in front of it".