The Big Future Of Mini PCs

The Consumer Electronics Show is often the source of new trends. From

to

and

, CES is all about new technology -- particularly those involving television. This year an unexpected trend has emerged. Manufacturers are beginning to seriously invest in the concept of small, inexpensive PCs. It started with Raspberry Pi a couple years ago, but now the big players -- including

and

-- are entering the space with their own mini offerings. Intel's effort could prove to be the most attractive for cost-conscious consumers. The company is developing a device called the

, a Chromecast-style device that brings a Windows 8.1 PC to any high-def TV. The $149 price tag is surprisingly low, and the

is even cheaper. Hewlett-Packard's entry is a little more traditional. The company is developing a

, which might have been inspired by the success of the low-cost HP Stream laptops. The Mini Desktop starts at $319.99 and will be available later this year. "The Stream [laptop] actually did well," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, told Benzinga. "You might argue that going after the low-end market is inconsistent with the premium brand that HP tries to carry everywhere else. But in terms of being successful, the PC unit has been one of HP's shining stars over the last half year." Enderle said that the Stream has been part of that success in the last quarter. "They moved a lot of volume," he said. "It doesn't generate a lot of profit, but it certainly moves a lot of volume."

Dan Miller, senior analyst and founder of

, said that the Mini Desktop "feels like a placeholder while they sort out their internal organization." "HP almost falls into that category of a firm that's trying to reestablish its brand," Miller told Benzinga. "It's gonna be tough. They'll have some challenges, for sure." Miller is a fan of HP's other low-cost computer, however. "I love the idea of a Chromebook-like thing," Miller said, referring to HP Stream. "I think that is indeed an opportunity area."

Enderle said that the Stream and Mini Desktop may have come as a result of HP's effort to lower costs. "Part of how you keep costs down in the PC segment is volume purchasing -- a lot of the same components used in Stream are used in other things," Enderle explained. "Stream provides the kind of manufacturing economy of scale that you need to keep the other costs down." Unfortunately, Enderle believes HP will lose some of those benefits when the company is

. "It's not clear to me how they're going to survive that split," said Enderle. "[But] the strategy for Stream has been successful. Desktop computers typically don't have the same dynamics surrounding them as laptops. The Mac Mini is hardly Apple's most successful offering. We've had mini computers in place for a while." Disclosure: