Manufacturers are jumping on the Android “Smart TV” wagon in flocks.
The latest device, by the moniker of “TIVI” from WISE, is a small portable device which plugs directly into your TV’s HDMI port, then offering the entire catalogue of Google’s Play Store including applications and games.
WISE has decided to use Indiegogo as its crowdfunding platform of choice, with the goal of raising $100,000 in funding to complete the project.
Of course to secure yourself a device at launch, you do not need to invest such an amount; the basic device costs $79, a “limited edition version” is available for $89, whilst a “full WISE TIVI package” (which includes a remote) will set you back $109.
The device, for something so small, doesn’t skimp on specs. Powering this dongle is a Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.6 GHz CPU and super-fast quad-core ARM Mali-400 GPU, more than capable of handling the latest 3D games and 1080p video streaming.
But is it the only device in the market? Recently a rival project was successfully funded (by 5,691 people) on rival crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, by the name of ‘GameStick’. In fact to put in perspective, the goal they required to meet was $100,000, they hit $647,658.
How do they compare? Well since being designed for gaming, the GameStick comes packaged with a controller that can house the tiny dongle itself.
Not enough? Add in a “GameStick Dock” to wirelessly charge the controller, add up to 64GB of storage, and support for peripheral hardware (including microphones, cameras, gesture recognition devices, dance mats, a keyboard and mouse…)
Let the Android Smart TV wars commence.
Do you think TIVI has a chance against the GameStick, or similar devices such as OUYA?
