Review: iRevo Smart PC

There is a basic problem with those ultra-small 'Stick PCs' and 'Mini Pcs': They require you to do a lot of work before they are good to go.  You need to organise a monitor; then you need a keyboard and a mouse.  The  palm sized Mini  or Nano PCs come without   memory or storage, which you have to procure and then  plug in.  These are not trivial expenses, even if we ignore the hassle of having to  find and buy them all separately.  Often the Operating System is not included, more expense!

So we are delighted to find that  Dhimant Bhayani,  an Indian   technopreneur based in the US, has  heard all these pain points  and come up with all-in-one solution that many  families with children  will appreciate.  The iRevo Smart PC  lives up to its name: It's  a smart little device hardly bigger than a WiFi router  that contains a full fledged Android PC, running on a quad-core chip, with 1 GB of memory and 8 or 16 GB of  Flash drive. It latches on to your home WIFi network  or to  an ethernet broadband connection.  The kit includes  wireless keyboard or mouse  as well as HDMI and Video outputs: all you need to find is a monitor,  even a TV will do. But if you want a complete system, the makers offer a 15.6 inch  LED  monitor  at a virtually throwaway price -- only adding  Rs 2500 or so to the asking price of Rs 7499 ( 8GB storage mode ). Bought separately such a monitor will cost twice as much.

The Rs 9,999 combo  includes  something  rare in an  Android PC:  Microsoft's Office suite of word-powerpoint-excel.  We  were not too excited at the requirement that one had to register with iRevo with email ID and mobile phone, before it is open for business. This is on top  of Android's own invasion of our privacy and the nudge to  start a Google account. This won't bother you if are already a GMail user.

The strength of the iRevo is the  beautifully curated  menus of popular sites and apps for Indians - e-commerce:  Snapdeal, Myntra, Jabong News: Sify, Rediff... Education: Coursera, Khan Academy, Government:  IRCTC, Aadhar, MyGov. Sports & Entertainment: HotStar, Yupp TV, StarSports.This makes it easy to reach favourite sites  fast, within minimum mouse clicks. This is important if you use the TV as your screen. But be warned you need a firm base for  mouse and keyboard.  You may opt for another configuration where these are replaced by remote.

At an all-in price of Rs 9999, the iRevo is excellent value for money and a good  buy for the whole family to use.