Allwinner H3 based Android TV boxes have been selling for a few months for $80 or less, and Draco H3 HDMI TV stick even goes for just $35. Zidoo has been working on their own Allwinner H3 platform called Zidoo X1 for a little while, and they are about to launch it for $59 (MSRP).
Zidoo X1 specifications:
- SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5GHz with quad core Mali-400MP2 @ 600 MHz
- System Memory – 1 GB DDR3
- Storage – 8 GB NAND flash (16GB in option) + micro SD slot up to 32GB
- Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Video Output – HDMI up to 4K2K @ 30Hz, AV
- Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF
- Video Codec – H.265/HEVC up to 4K30, 1080p60 decoding for H.264, VP8, MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, H.263. WMV9, VC1, etc…
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports
- Misc – IR receiver
- Power Supply – 5V/2A (power barrel)
- Dimensions – 12.6 x 11.8 x 3.6 cm
- Weight – N/A
The box runs Android 4.4, and will ship with an HDMI cable, an IR remote control, a power adapter, and a user’s manual. Based on my experience with Zidoo X9, the company is very good as providing regular firmware update all provided over-the-air (OTA), except when it comes to Kodi/XBMC support. But it’s quite possible they did not have the source code for XBMC modifications made for the Mstar processor in X9, but with Zidoo X1, they claim to have worked extensively on a Kodi 14.2 port with features like hardware decoding and 1080p24 automatic frame rate switching, and they’ll also have their own Zidoo’s add-on repository, although they haven’t provided details about the add-ons yet. I’m not quite sure Zidoo is committed to comply with Kodi’s GPL license though…
The 4K media player is not quite up for sale, but in order to promote their brand, and new product, they’ll launched a promotion where they will give away up to 100 Zidoo boxes (Only 50 units if less than 300 entries) to people who participate. You’ll need to register to their forums, post a picture of your TV (40″ or greater), and also share the link of the promotion in at least one social network or forum in order to enter the draw (Rules on the latter point are not 100% clear). If you are a winner, you’d need to pay $9.9 by Paypal to cover the cost of shipping by DHL. The competition closes on June 25, and the boxes will start to ship on June 30. Good luck to those who choose to participate.
If you’d rather not share personal information in this competition, the box is now listed for pre-order on Geekbuying for $59.99, and should soon be found on Amazon and eBay too. A few more details can also be found on Zidoo X1 product page.
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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