If your television still falls in the “dumb” category, a set-top box is usually the easiest solution for gaining access to the goodies that come with Smart TVs. One such box is the newly launched and simply-named Smart TV Box from Satechi, which best resembles a WiFi router and brings with it, among other things, an Android 4.2-based operating system.
According to Satechi, the Smart TV Box is based on Android 4.2, and with it comes the ability to download apps from the Google Play Store, as well as some other smart television activities. Entertainment streaming, including movies and music, as well as game play and similar are all offered by the device.
Under the hood, the Smart TV Box runs on a 1.8GHz processor alongside 2GB of DDR3 RAM and 8GB of storage space. The graphics, meanwhile, come by way of a Mali-400MP4 quad-core GPU. Connectivity comes in the form of both WiFi and Ethernet, while video connectivity is an expected HDMI port.
While Android is designed for smaller, handheld devices, companies like Satechi have been putting it on TV boxes for the past few years. It’s nice to see a growing number of these gadget makers including the XBMC app for Android, since XBMC is designed as an app to turn Android, Windows, OS X, or Linux devices into full-fledged home theater platforms.
Though not explicitly stated, it seems the device also features a USB port, with Satechi saying users can plug in a Bluetooth adapter for use with a wireless keyboard or mouse. There’s a remote included with the Smart TV Box, as well as its power supply. The unit is priced at $109.99 USD, and is available now through Satechi and Amazon.
Source: SlashGear and Liliputing
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