It looks like MK888 (aka CS918 or K-R42-1), or more exactly MK888B (Includes Bluetooth support), is now getting some competition with Jesurun K8, another Rockchip RK3188 set-top box with 2GB RAM, 8GB Flash, and Bluetooth support, that sells for as low as $80 on Aliexpress (called Hi720), and $85 on DealExtreme.
Here are the specifications listed on DX:
- SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 @ 1.6GHz + Mali-400 MP4 GPU
- System Memory – 2GB DDR3
- Storage – 8GB Flash + SD card slot (up to 32GB)
- Connectivity:
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
- Bluetooth V2.1
- 10/100M Ethernet
- USB – 3x USB 2.0 port
- Video Output – HDMI 1.4 + AV
- Audio Formats – MP3 / WMA / WAV / OGG/OGA / FLAC / APE / AAC/M4A / RM
- Video Codecs – H.264 / VP8 / RV / WMV / AVS / H.263 / MPEG4
- Power supply – 5V/2A
- Dimensions – 14.9 cm x 9.2 cm x 2.1 cm
- Weight – 188 grams
The device is sold with a power adapter, a USB power cable (80cm), an HDMI cable (60cm), and a Chinese / English user’s manual. Screenshots confirm it’s running Android 4.2.2 (SDK V1.0), and the build number seems to indicate Hotack is the manufacturer or design house, but I could not find the product on their site.
Compared to the Bluetooth version of CS918, Jesurun K8 lacks optical S/PDIF and an IR remote, but adds an extra USB port. At $85, it’s slightly cheaper than the $93 you’d have to pay for MK888B.
Thanks to CSilie for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Waiting patiently for a box/stick running Android 4.3 (SDK V2.0)
@Central China Facilities
Rockchip has already released SDK V2.0, but it’s for Android 4.2. Android 4.3 may take a little longer, maybe we’ll get something for Xmas.
4.2 has Miracast right? What’s worth waiting for in 4.3?
@onebir
TRIM support, OpenGL ES 3.0, Build-in Bluetooth Smart, Security improvements, CPU/GPU Performace boost, to name a few
@Central China Facilities
Thanks, I hadn’t heard of some of those things 🙂
Can anyone confirm if it’s possible to sync from such a device with https://owndrive.com?
@Central China Facilities
@onebir
I’d just like to point out that some of the improvements will only work on some hardware. OpenGL ES 3.0 is not supported by most SoC, and Bluetooth Smart required Bluetooth 4.0 BLE hardware. AFAIK, others listed improvements do not rely on specific hardware.
@Mark R
They have an Android app, so I don’t see why it would not work.
Cheapest price found so far delivered $60.84,but brand new seller.
(And he puts TV-Stick in the listing?)
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RK3188-Quad-Core-Android-4-2-TV-Stick-Smart-Android-TV-Box-2G-RAM-DDR3-8GB/1191241804.html
@Joe Bucks
He calls it MK822, and so does another seller. The price seems too good to be true, and the “on-time delivery 20 days” commitment as well…
@cnxsoft
Yes I was surprised by the pricing also.
I have a feeling that what they are selling is the RK3066 Dual Core Model with 1GB RAM model #:MK821.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/MK821-mini-pc-android-dual-core-rk3066-smart-TV-BOX-1G-8G/1191241795.html
Maybe Eric from Geekbuying can help us out with this dilemma?
@cnxsoft
Sounds good. I’m considering to order one of these to replace my HTPC. Thank you!
I’m having a hard time finding something similar, but with analog video output (composite or vga). I have found ONE, but it’s larger than a stick (similar to mele).
To recap: I want 2Gb (or more!) + Analog video + Linux friendliness.
Anybody knows?
Will this work well with all games on playstore?
Also will netflix and vpn work on it ?