After raising over $300,000 during a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo earlier this year, the team behind the Tango PC has taken to Kickstarter to raise the remaining funds to finish building the PC you can fit in your pocket. Not only is the Tango PC ultraportable, the team also claims that it is a formidable gaming machine and office companion as well. We got our hands on an early engineering unit to test these claims for ourselves, and we weren’t disappointed.
What really stands out is that the Tango is as slim and as light as advertised, fitting what amounts to a full range of desktop components in a package about the size of an iPhone 5s. The specifications include an AMD A6-5200 2 GHz quad-core processor, DDR3 RAM (from 2-8GB), SSD hard drive (from 32GB-1TB or higher), 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x HDMI port, headphone jack and internal Wi-Fi.
As for the operating system, Windows 7 and Windows 8 are both certified to run on Tango, but any OS compatible with a laptop PC should work, such as Linux, Unix and Chromium OS. In other words, Tango could potential be your next Steam Machine.
Included with the miniature PC will be a docking station. This is where the project really shines — with multiple docking stations spread between your home, office and other frequently visited locations, you can transport the Tango PC anywhere without having to worry about backing up data or remembering to safely remove your device. Simply unplug your Tango in the morning, throw it in your bag, and plug it back in when you get to work. The docking stations will be $99 a piece, but the team believes each station could replace a desktop PC, a streaming box or even a gaming console.
After popping in the Tango, powering on the dock and connecting it to my TV, I was surprised at just how familiar everything felt. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Tango (as I saw it) was no different from any other PC. I mean that in the best way possible: there’s no learning curve or confusing UI, it’s just a powerful Windows PC you can bring anywhere.
I took some time to browse the Internet, watch a few videos and even play some mid-range games. I never noticed a single hitch. Tango won’t compete with high-end machines, but for a device this small, it really packs a punch. Keep in mind that the photos in the article are of an early unit, so expect some visual and technical changes before the final product ships later this year.
If you’d like to contribute to the Tango Kickstarter campaign, you’ve still got four days to help push the project over the edge and secure a Tango or two for yourself. If this campaign is successful, the team will have the funding it needs to begin sending inventory to interested retailers and improve some of the specifications on the device.
Be sure to check out the video below for a live demo of Tango and even more information about the project:
