Introduction

We would like to thank Giada for supplying the review sample.

GIADA is a Chinese company with an active presence in the area of cloud-computing equipment. According to their "About Us" page, the brand name "Giada" is derived from the Italian word for "Jade", which symbolizes the quality and style of each and every product they produce. We find mini- and slim-PC systems, barebones, fanless mini systems, tablets, ARM based PCs, and even a motherboard for NAS servers amongst their products. In this review, we will focus on their ARM-based mini PC with model number Q11.

The Q11 runs an Android OS and is, according to its maker, ideal for digital signature usage, educational purposes, medical and home-automation systems, hotels and, of course, multimedia use at home. This small system uses a single-core ARM CPU clocked at 1 GHz, so it won't set any new records with its performance, but the CPU will do just fine for its intended purpose because it can easily handle 1080p material with the GPU and is, on top of that, very energy efficient, which makes active cooling unnecessary. The Q11 is also equipped with a battery, which allows it to handle power disruptions, and has 8 GB of flash memory. If you want more storage, there is room for a 2.5" HDD inside. Here, we should note that if you cut the power from the Q11 and its battery is charged, it is still able to start up or continue its operation if already active, operating for one minute before falling into deep sleep. Naturally, we expected it to keep operating for as long as its battery could support it for, but Giada apparently had a different opinion on this matter.

Based on its specs, the Q11 looks ideal for a consumer that needs an affordable mini PC with a lot of features. The Android OS offers a high degree of flexibility, and the connectivity options that the Q11 offers (WiFi, Bluetooth, and IR) along with the bundled HDMI port and the audio output for an external amplifier ensure that you will get the most out of this system. Let's examine the features and specifications of this small but interesting PC in more detail on the next page.