Like Chromebooks, thumb-size PCs will soon take off

Thumb-size PCs like Intel's Compute Stick are still a novelty, but adoption will slowly grow as TVs and displays increasingly become the center of entertainment and computing.

ABI Research is estimating that shipments of these compact computers will reach 5 million by 2021. ABI didn't provide shipment numbers for 2015, but the market for the devices is still in its infancy. 

The forecast growth trajectory sounds like that for Chrome PCs, which were introduced in 2011 but whose worldwide shipments grew gradually to about 5.7 million units through the first three quarters of 2015.

The typical thumb-size, or stick, PC is slightly larger than a flash drive, and converts any display with an HDMI port into a full-fledged PC. Users can run Windows 10 OS, applications like Microsoft Office, or stream movies from Youtube or Netflix to a TV.

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