Microsoft, Intel see big market for PC-on-Stick in India

NEW DELHI: Want to turn your LED or LCD TV into a smart TV as well as a full-fledged personal computer with all the paraphernalia? A device called PC-on-a-stick can do the job for less than Rs 10,000. US majors Microsoft and Intel are seeing a big market for the technology in India, where PC penetration is low while sales of LED TVs are booming. The device can turn any LED or LCD monitor with an HDMI port into a PC. It can not only stream media from the Internet to the TV – like Google Chromecast and Teewe – but also support a mouse and keyboard and offer processing power comparable to tablet computers.

At the concept level, the stick computer is primarily being positioned for the Indian households that don't possess a personal computer at home, said Vineet Durani, Microsoft India's director for Windows Business Group. PC penetration is very low in the country with just 10% households having access to computers, he said.

"We can position this stick PC as a cheap alternative to PC. In those areas, chances are that people might not have a PC but they certainly have a TV in their house," Durani said.

Microsoft, along with its partners, has already executed several pilots for this product in India to gauge the opportunity and Durani termed the response as positive. The company is expected to commercially launch its product in India within a few weeks.

Microsoft is also talking to TV manufacturers to bundle this stick computer with new TVs.