Android TV Box Survey Results – Kodi, YouTube, Netflix, Brands, Support, and Prices

I’ve launched a survey on behalf of a TV box manufacturer two weeks ago, and the results are now in with over 400 respondents. As promised, the company provided the results so let’s have a look. First, most of respondents use a TV box without tuner, while some have both, and a few others haven’t purchased one yet. Survey participants where then asked about the most important apps in an Android TV box with a 1 (not important) to 6 (very important) scale. The results are not really surprising with Kodi and YouTube being the most sought after apps. Netflix came a distant third, and a fair amount of respondents want their TV box to support HD resolutions. Most people could not care less about Hulu and Sling TV. The third question was about the price people were ready to pay for a TV box with the same specs, but […]

Have Your Say with this Android TV Box Survey (and Potentially Win One)

While you probably know what you want in an Android TV box, it’s quite difficult to find out what the market wants exactly, so I’ve been asked to run a short survey about Android TV boxes, the importance of Android apps like Kodi, Plex, or Netflix, brands, and support. It will run for about 7 days, the results will be public, so I’ll post them once they become available. The survey is short – 5 questions -,  and anonymous, except if you want to participate in the lucky draw to win one Android TV box, as you have to leave an email address. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)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. www.cnx-software.com

Review of No.1 D6 Android Smartwatch Powered by Mediatek MT6580 Processor

Karl here with a new review. This one is a little different. A smart watch, but not your average smart watch, as most smartwatches supplement a phone. This is a standalone smartwatch. It runs full Android 5.1. It is the D6 by No. 1. It has a 3G radio and SIM card slot. I was really excited when I found out I could do this review. Below are some pics from their website. Another professionally shipped and packaged product and some box pics Here are the specs from No. 1’s website. Product Overview Model NO.1 D6 Product modeling Android Smartwatch System Android 5.1 CPU MT6580 quad core Cortex A7 @ up to 1.3 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU Screen Resolution 1.63″ 320 x 320 resolution RAM 1GB ROM 8GB Wifi Support Google Play Support Features Make calls Support See text messages Support Contacts Support Heart Rate Support Pedometer Support Bluetooth BT2.1 + […]

Morefine M1+ Review – A Dual Boot Windows and Android TV Stick

Karl here and I will be reviewing the Morefine M1+. It is an Intel based stick PC with an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor with 2GB RAM and 64 GB of storage. It dual boots Windows 10 Home 32 bit and Android 5.1. In this review, I won’t be doing many benchmarks because they have been done a lot in the past. Be careful when researching this product because there are 2 devices with same name with different specs. The other one has an Intel Atom z3735 and only 32GB storage and Android 4.4. The box came expertly wrapped and I have never seen a package delivered and protected so well. In the box was the stick, short HDMI extension, power cable, and instruction manual. No micro USB OTG cable is included. I didn’t find this an issue because I had several already. Specs OS Version: OS Windows 10 (Trial Version) […]

WeTek Hub TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

WeTek Hub is the latest TV box by WeTek running Android 5.1 or OpenELEC, with support for Widewine Level 1 allowing Netflix HD in Android as well as Microsoft Playready DRM, and featuring Amlogic S905-H Rev. C processor that fixes video playback issues on some 4K H.265 DVB streams, and includes Dolby and DTS licenses. The company has now sent me a unit for review, and I’ll check the hardware first before reviewing the TV box in a separate post. WeTek Hub Unboxing The device comes in a blue and black retail package showing some of the key features including  WiFi, Dolby, DTS, HDMI, and Bluetooth support. The QR Code on the package redirects to http://www.wetek.com/qr/201603, which just looks like WeTek main page. The top cover of the package can slide to reveal more small boxes with the device and accessories. The device ships with a basic IR remote control […]

What’s the Best Android TV Box?

[Update December 26, 2017: I’ve posted a new version of this post entitled “What’s the Best Android TV Box (2017/2018 Edition)?“. I’ll leave the post below to have an historical perspective] I often get asked which TV box to buy, or what the best Android TV box is, and the answer is the TV box that fits your needs for the lowest price point possible. Considering there are around 2 millions apps for Android, they are multitudes of use cases, and you can’t provide a single answer for everybody. So I’ll provide a list of things to look for beside the processor, and three TV boxes that I think are worth considering, before providing alternatives for people who want cheaper devices. Things to Look for There are still a few things you may want to specifically look for before purchasing an Android TV box: History of regular firmware updates – […]

Rippl-TV V2 Android 5.1 TV Box Features an Android TV-like Launcher, Supports Widevine L1 DRM

The maker of Rippl-TV media player are back with Rippl-TV V2 featuring Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash, but the most interesting part of this device is probably on the software side with support for two launchers: Rippl-TV and an Android TV-like launcher, as well as support for Winevine L1 DRM allowing for HD playback of online video services such as Netflix, and Google Cast. [Update: While the company confirmed support for L1 DRM, a trusted third party has claimed that L1 DRM is currently buggy on Amlogic S905… Update 2: The company replied and there’s still a bug with Netflix TV app] Rippl-TV V2 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 processor up to 2.0 GHz with penta core ARM Mali-450 GPU up to 750Mhz+ System Memory –  1GB DDR3 Storage –  8GB eMMC flash + micro SD […]

Eny EM95 Amlogic S905 TV Box Review

CNXSoft has already taken some pictures of Eny EM95 Amlogic S905 TV box, so I’ll take over from here as I received my ENY EM95 today and I was excited. I have not got a new Android device in a while. First Impressions I opened it up to find a tiny box that has a display on it. Seems interesting. While booting it says boot and the rest of the time it shows the time in 24 hour format and a few other indicators that I didn’t find particularly useful. In the retail box is the device remote and HDMI cable and power supply. I noticed no micro or mini USB port to flash firmware. I don’t have a type A to type A cable so will need to pick one up. I was working from home today so I was able to open immediately and play with it for […]

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