New mini PC based on Android 4.0

Off-topic Chatter
1

Rikomagic MK802

"The actual size of the mini-Pc is 8.8 x 3.5 x 1.2 centimeters, and it weighs 200g. Other specs include a Mali 400 GPU, 512 or 1024 MB of RAM, 4 GB of internal flash storage, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for wireless peripherals. The power input is 5V/2A.

It features Android 4.0 and an AllWinner A10 SoC clocked at 1.5 GHz. The device, called the Rikomagic MK802, also includes a mini-HDMI jack to output 1080p video to an HDTV, a microSD slot for adding up to 32 GB of storage, a microUSB port for power and a USB 2.0 Host port."

"Connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to the device, the power supply, and an HDMI cable to your TV, and you’ve got yourself a cheap PC running Android 4.0. Since this is based on AllWinner A10, you could also insert a microSD card with Ubuntu, Debian or your other favorite Linux distribution and have yourself a Linux PC," CNXSoft reports.

Sources here

So you just have to add a wireless mouse (usb-hub and a keyboard as option) and the power supply and you should you have a pretty sweet living room PC connected to your TV-Set.The price point of 74 USD (512 MB) mentioned in the article isn't bad either. The article mentions that even full linux distributions can be run if you don't like Android.

I have a Odys Xelio tablet which has roughly the same specs and I am pretty happy how it performs and that it plays all video formats with the MX Player and that it has flash support unlike some other devices . It even plays blue ray backups with H264 codec and full HD resolution. But at the moment I use it mostly stationary so the additional screen is a bit of a waste. Plus I don't know how the tablet behaves once the batteries have depleted their capacity. The constant charging and discharging in stationary mode can't be too good for the LiIon battery in the long run.

Unboxing

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/akp2hYE1dZ0?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0

App demonstrations http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/3U3ztxu82FM?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0

The device in action and the internals are shown

Video playback and some angry birds rio performance is shown

What do you guys think about that device?

Wifi, noob question, Wireless adapter recommendation?
Exduct Special 5% coupon for BLF members "BLFgiveaway"
2
jackyhu of Exduct informed me that he has added the device to his line-up... talking to vendors is helpful sometimes ;-) There are many multimedia players out there based on android but I haven't seen one with 1GB Ram so far at that price point... most have only 512MB which is a little small if you ever want to run full linux distros (Ubuntu , Debian)... Exduct is even a little cheaper (~$70 shipped for 512 MB and ~$80 $ 68.50 for 1024 MB ram) and we can pay with PP at ED instead of credit card on ali-express which I don't like doing at all. Hmm... might have to get one.
3

Oh my god... that is the smallest I have seen....

Any idea on how good the CPU will be? It moves angry birds very well.......

4

Nice, I may have to pull the trigger on one of these.

5

Let's just say Quake 3 runs with 50-60 FPS on my Xelio.... ;-) The integrated Mali graphic processor has full OpenGL ES support. Turbofly 3D also runs really smooth at high frame rates. This is the main reason for me that I am interested in this specific model.... I already know the chipset and what it is capable of and where its limitations are. If you run these Chinese tablet and mini PCs the Android market might be crippled or missing in the beginning (works perfectly out of the box.... see post #27). My main purpose of my Xelio is watching some TV series streams, movies and internet radio (shoutcast, lastFM) at the moment... as well as checking some mails or BLF. And keyboard and mouse support support runs really well on android 4.0 . With the ES explorer APP I have full access to my Windows samba file shares. The hardware is roughly the same that you would find in a Samsung Galaxy SII.... so in theory everything that runs on that phone should also run on the MK802.... the software on the Samsung is probably better optimized. Here is an article about the CPU/SOC used.

Other neat devices in that sector are:

The Mele A1000/A2000

+ Same SOC as the MK802

+ even more connectors (3 USB , RCA , VGA, HDMI, TV-out, RJ45, audio out, audio in)

+ supports fullsize SD-cards up to 32GB

+ the A1000 comes often with a 2,5" HDD SATA enclosure / the A2000 doesn't

+ 1 x Remote controller (although I think a wireless mouse is better for android)

+ Netflix 1.30 APK is reported to work

- only 1 GHz stock speed

- only 512 MB Ram !!!

- Android 2.3.4 stock OS (claims to be upgradable to 4.0 on the A2000 and I have seen the A1000 being sold with 4.0 on ali)

o the A1000 has only 2GB internal flash the A2000 4GB

o the A1000 can be purchased at DX and A2000 also

----- thoughts from me: It would be the better deal than the MK802 if it only had 1GB Ram instead of 512MB.

ATV 101 / Amlogic-8726-M-Cortex-A9

+ Cortex A9 which should be even faster than the A8 core of the Allwinner A10 (+25% at the same clock speed)

+ (3 USB , 3,5 mm audio in/out , VGA, HDMI, TV-out, RJ45)

+ Android 4.0

+ supports fullsize SD-cards up to 32GB

- only 512 MB Ram !!!

- needs special USB OTG which isn't included.

- no VGA

Can be purchased at DX (2 gb grey or white) with wireless mouse (which I don't need... already have one from my laptop) or at ali-express without (4gb).

----- thoughts from me: It would be the better deal then the MK802 if it only had 1GB Ram instead of 512MB.

6

Heh...I was checking this out earlier this morning in my ZDnet email. I think this would make an excellent base for a carPC.

7

Those cheap tablets are already excellent carPCs. :)

8

Yes, these minipc´s are excellent to use in cars

9

In a car I would also prefer a tablet rather than a mini-pc... you would always have to buy an additional screen of some sort. The mini PCs are great for locations, where there is already a TV with an HDMI input. (living room, guest room, bath ;-))

If you want a tablet with similar specs.... Dino has the Ainol Aurora cheap atm... IPS display is important for in car use because of viewing angles (7:30 mark).

10

Might be an interesting extension for some TVs. But I think I'd prefer something with Windows 8..

11

Which will also run on ARM-CPU/SOCs at some point. So it's pretty much your weapon of choice Android/Linux/Win8 or all three via multi-boot. I never understood the OS wars... why not install them all? My PC runs MacOS/WinXP/Linux(Debian) .... it's like pokemon ... you gotta install them all. ;-)

12

I think I'd rather have the opposite: Make my Android tablet a PC with Windows 8

But I do like the concept of bringing Android to the TV in a simple and cost effective solution like this. It actually makes a lot of sense if the price is right. I'd think you be able to market a professional device with proper marketing similar to the Roku at $99 or less and it'd be a winner. The reason Android is viable is because it's open source - the maker doesn't charge for it - and thus it should always be cheaper than Windows and iOS. Well, I suppose iOS isn't a good example since Apple doesn't license their software. Also, I think it makes more sense over Windows 8 because it's more basic and thus more practical for TV use at this point in time. I do, however, feel Win8 is on the right track by combining the traditional desktop with the touch screen experience so we're gradually trained instead of making an abrupt switch. I'm curious how this will play out for the TV once it's more common place.

13

@Vectrex: I'll never install MacOS and I like Win7. Android might be good but I think I'd prefer Win8 on a TV. Of course, if its easy enough and really plays all data even with that tiny processor.. I might give it a shot.

Actually I think Win 8 is perfectly simple for a TV if you stay on the tile-screen. Problem with modern TVs is, most of them have a media player built in but they dont play all codecs.. so I'm really tempted to hook a small device like that one up to my TV..

14

That's why I was so impressed with the Allwinner A10 Chipset (together with the hardware acceleration in the MX Player) in my Xelio tablet. I have yet to find a codec that it can't play and I have thrown 30+ codecs at it and have yet to find one the wouldn't play or stutter. (with the exception of surround sound... I don't have the speaker system for that tests.... update:DTS/Dolby seems to be an issue) I don't know if these mini PCs are similar flawless... but since the hardware is the same or better... I would assume one could make it work. These devices are more for tech savvy people... but they deliver an incredible bang for the buck. I mean my similar spec'ed tablet can play videos where an Athlon 64 single-core CPU has problems with fluent playback. When I got my tablet in my hands I was truly impressed ... the last time I was this impressed with a tech gadget (price-performance wise), was when I first got my first XR-E light from dealextreme (MTE C3) about 2-3 years ago. The way I look at mobile devices has forever changed. Granted the cheapos are not reaching the level of Ipads or the more expensive Samsung tablets.... which shows especially in the screen resolution and viewing angles... but the pure hardware power is just impressive for the price paid, if you are willing to put a little work into it. What I don't like about pretty much all pads is, that they pretty much become trash when the battery is depleted, on the cheaper tablets at least... why don't the manufacturers use user-exchangable batteries... wait I have an idea.... ;-) I heard about ridiculous prices taken by Apple and Samsung for a battery change.... +$100 often.

I have pretty much installed and tested all major OSes on PCs in the last 10 years. My notebook is Win7/Office2010 (4GB)... I still like the WinXP/Office2003 (2GB) combination on my desktop better overall... I don't see the benefit and the usability has gotten worse with MS products lately (ribbons.... argh)... granted WIN7 is a lot better than WinVista, but that doesn't say much.

15

Exduct has the 1GB version listed...

Cool, the price comes down to $86.16-$10(discount)+$5.34(shipping and handling)=$81.50

73.16-10+5.34= $68.50

Which is several bucks cheaper than Ali-express ($87.42) plus the benefit of PP payment option.

16

First user experience from aliosa27 on cnx-software.com:

So it seems to behave like my tablet switching from lower resolution in the GUI to high resolution for video playback.

I ordered one from Exduct as the mentioned downsides don't affect me that much and MXPlayer is my standard video player anyways.

What I really like that it can be USB powered... many modern TVs have a USB port... so it probably could get its power directly from the TV.

Lol at playing Diablo 3 on that device... onlive and splashtop really seem to work. Why even bother with buying a gaming rig for your living room... crazy stuff.

17

Huh.. I'd love to play Freelancer or sth like that on my TV. :D

"Does not seem to output dts/dolby over hdmi..Im hoping thats fixable."

Pretty much useless for me without that feature..

18

Doesn't most HD material come in AC3 5.1 or AC3 7.1 these days? I have a hard time finding one file that actually uses DTS/Dolby in my collection. And most of my SD material uses MP3 or OGG for audio. You can convert DTS to AC3 I believe but that is only an option if one has very few DTS files. (It would take a few minutes for each film)

19

As if the chinese actually paid license fees. :D

Actually I've got quite a lot of DTS. I prefer it over AC3 because the quality usually is better.

20

They kind of have to, if they ever want to sell the devices in western shops. I wonder how much it would cost to get a license like this from Dolby in larger quantities.

But you are right if playing DTS HD Material is your main intended purpose this device isn't probably the right one for you ... along with all other cheap android multimedia player. Even devices like the Westen Digital Live seem to have problems with DTS. I wonder if pass-through to a DTS capable receiver would work, or if the signal can be down-mixed to stereo in real time.