Cutting-edge manufacturing processes and their relentless innovations are ideal for creativity. As electronic components continue to shrink, companies can now build compact systems. Some can even closely match the performance of regular computing products. To illustrate, we want to highlight the aptly named Abacus. It’s a cool take on a personal computer by the guys at Pentaform.

Thanks to crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo we get to see startups come up with fascinating gimmicks established brands are hesitant to even explore. To best way to describe the Abacus is something that embodies the concept of an all-in-one PC, albeit sans a display. Nonetheless, its shortcomings are not exactly what we might call a dealbreaker.

According to Pentaform, their approach takes into account that every modern home typically has access to a monitor or TV with an HDMI port. As such, they are packing everything except for a screen into a device the size of a regular keyboard. Not only does it reduce the physical footprint, but it also helps with sustainability.

Apart from the lesser materials it needs for production, the Abacus also uses recycled ABS for its housing. This makes it lightweight yet remarkably durable. Inside is a quad-core Intel Cherry Trail Z8350 chipset with Windows 10 preinstalled. The system is also compatible with Linux and features a 40-pin GPIO interface. The latter is great for those who want to tinker around and code.

There are three storage and memory options available: 32 GB eMMC/2 GB DDR3, 64 GB eMMC/6 GB DDR3, and 128 GB eMMC/8 GB DDR3. The Abacus comes with an Ethernet port, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, a USB-C port, and a MicroSD card slot. It is available in a transparent or black body version.

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Images courtesy of Pentaform