Android’s an awesome platform for smartphones. It’s pretty good for tablets too. But as a TV platform? Really? Kogan’s already launched an Android TV media player, and now JayCar has followed suit with the Jaycar Smart Android TV Media Player.
Costing $199, the device connects to your TV via HDMI and lets you play a variety of media file formats, including MKV, VOB, and DivX on your television. It features two USB ports and an SD card slot for loading your media files, and comes with Wi-Fi, allowing you to access Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Skype on the big screen. It even has Angry Birds pre-installed.
But there are a few of concerns. One is the design, or lack thereof. Second is the price – It seems exceptionally limited for $200, especially when it’s only running an 800MHz processor with 512MB RAM. Thirdly is the lack of optimisation of Android apps for TV resolutions.
But then again, these are pretty common problems for Android-based media streaming devices. In the anticipation for a proper Google TV rollout, you can’t expect much more, really.
[Jaycar]