Meet the MinION, a low cost ($900) USB DNA sequencer. Per New Scientist:
The UK firm Oxford Nanopore built the device, called MinION, and claims it can sequence simple genomes – like those of some viruses and bacteria – in a matter of seconds. More complex genomes would take longer, but MinION could also be useful for obtaining quick results in sequencing DNA from cells in a biopsy to look for cancer, for example, or to determine the genetic identity of bone fragments at an archaeological dig.
There is another one by Ion Torrent that’s desktop sized.
There’s competition in the world of desktop DNA sequencing. The future is here.