HP Downsizes the Desktop with Pavilion Mini and Stream Mini PCs

Go back in time a few years ago and we might have scoffed at the idea of palm sized desktops PCs. And if you would have tried telling us they're as powerful as some desktop tower PCs, you would have elicited a hearty chuckle from us. Ah, but times are changing, and these little units are no laughing matter. Following in the footsteps of systems like Intel's NUC, HP today announced the Pavilion Mini Desktop and Stream Mini Desktop, a pair of pint-sized systems with hardly any footprints to speak of.

Measuring a scant 2.06 inches high and weighing only 1.6 pounds, the HP Pavilion Mini Desktop can rest easily in the palm of your hand. Despite its small size, there's some respectable hardware and features to cover, such as up to Intel Core i3 processor options, up to 8GB of expandable memory, up to 1TB of storage, dual-display support with DisplayPort and HDMI outputs, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, four USB ports, and a few other odds and ends.

The HP Stream Mini Desktop comes in the same small package but includes "value added services" and features like 32GB of SSD storage, 200GB of Microsoft OneDrive storage for two years, a $25 gift card for the Windows Store, and a Cobalt Blue color scheme.

When these systems hit retailers on February 8, 2015, pricing will start at $320 for the HP Pavilion Mini Desktop (Intel Pentium 3558U processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD) and $180 for theStream Mini (Intel Celeron 2957U processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB SSD). Both will come with a keyboard and mouse bundle.