The Asus Qube, featuring Google TV 3.0 supporting, was first unveiled at CES 2013. Since then the device has lost its “Q”, has been renamed to Asus Cube, and is now available for pre-order in the US for $139.99 in Newegg, a bit earlier than initially planned (Q3 2012), but slightly more expensive than the $130 we were told to expect in January. The device will start to ship on 24th of April.
First, just a quick reminder of the specs. Asus Cube is based on Marvell Armada 1500 Google TV platform, features HDMI out (for TV), HDMI in (for satellite or cable receiver), 2x USB ports, a IR blaster port and provides both Ethernet and Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity. The Cube is a cube (duh!) measuring about 12.44 cm on each side.
Newegg has uploaded a 21 minutes video discussing about the device with an Asus representative, describing the accessories or the Cube itself, and doing a demo of the UI and key features. This is obviously not a review, since they will not explain the shortcomings of the products on promotional videos, but still interesting to have a look.
For the first five minutes they show the packaging, and discuss about the features of the device. At 05:03, they show the accessories included: quick start guide and user’s manual, IR blaster, remote control and batteries, and AC power supply, then spent a bit of time going through the device ports.
The demo starts at 11:20. They show the UI (which is also a cube), play with voice recognition to launch apps and TV shows, either available online or via your satellite / cable receiver, and pair a Nexus 7 tablet with the Asus Cube to play and control YouTube videos on the big screen with the tablet. This last feature is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Via Liliputing.
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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but why is it so ugly?
@notzed
Perhaps, because it is made to be cheap.
Allwinner A10 based STB with remote (keyboard/mouse) is being sold for about same price:
http://dx.com/p/mele-a3700-android-4-0-google-tv-player-w-wi-fi-1gb-ram-8gb-rom-air-mouse-white-164490
If Marvel’s platform is more expensive than Allwinner A10, they must save on something.
But why it is so big?