Now speaking of Android, what strikes us first! Samsung S3 [and the screwed up tag line - "designed for humans"] and HTC One X [like i need to skydive, take a picture while taking a video everyday] and the whole bandwagon of phones on steroids.
But then android is just a software... so why cant we run it on basically anything with some chips on it. And so that pushed me into hunting for devices running on Android other than phones and tablets... and its surprising where we can find android! Like roaches clambering into every nook of a room, android has somehow found its way into a crazy list of devices.
without much adieu..
Android 4.0 Mini PC:
This one really caught my fancy! Not because it performs like a super computer but because of its size. Although its not a stellar performer compared to the Mac Mini, its something very interesting to see [Look mom! they shrunk the computer!]
This little bad boy is just the size of a pen-drive. For its guts - it comes with a 1.5GHz Allwinner single core processor, 512MB of RAM [It comes with a 1GB RAM too - $84] and 4GB of onboard flash storage and a Mali 400 GPU. You can get at these internals via two USB ports (which can also power the device,) and pump the result out to a display via HDMI. If that 4GB of memory isn't enough, you can expand it via a microSD slot. Well, by now one thing is clear - its definitely Chinese! Its funny they are trying to bring all the gadgets to their sizes [micro]... although ain't that a delight!
So whats the deal with this? Now this HDMI can be connected to your TV, the USB connected to a hub through which you can connect mouse, keyboard, pen-drive, external hard-disks and voila! you got yourself a PC! As far as testing - we all had the same expression when Frankenstein created the monster - Its Alive!!
Priced at $74, it's not a rich kids toy either and available aplenty all over the internet.
Ouya!:
Now for the next surprise i found among the ever so vast online communities, is definitely a treat for all you avid phone-gamers.
The motivation for this project was pretty simple. I love the games in my phone but this fucking screen is killing me. The controls aren't as much fun as the consoles we have [which means i am getting butchered in the game] and well the whole thing doesn't feel so slick. Hmm, why not make a console to play just these games!
And so they came up with a project - Ouya! Its interesting to note that the product hasn't entered the prototype stage but managed to collect more that $8 million dollars. That's what you get when hackers and coders unite for one cause! games!!!
So what are we looking at? Its definitely not an alien tissue dispenser, its actually a phone without a screen.
These are the technical specification:
- Nvidia Tegra 3 (T33) SoC
- Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU
- Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU
- 1 GB RAM
- 8 GB of internal flash storage
- HDMI connection to the TV, with support for up to 1080p HD
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth LE 4.0
- Ethernet port
- One USB 2.0
- Wireless controller sporting two analog sticks, d-pad, eight action buttons, a system button, and 3 touchpad
- Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"
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| Something i found online! |
And here we have, ladies [if any] and gentlemen, the ultimatum for all android laptops. Priced at $99 with HDMI port to hook up to any sort of display one can find! This one can beat the pricing of any laptops in the market [Asus Transformer Prime - $679].
But then you may ask "why android man? whats the big deal with this box?". Android and iOS are fast catching up to be the most preferred platforms for game development, not just due to the ease at which one can make a game, but also the profit a developer makes compared to other consoles. The development takes very little capital and this is encouraging more developers to bring more game titles. This would ensure us an exhaustive supply of games, and that is something we can't ignore! With the PS3 and Xbox games costing arms and legs [wont someone please think of the children!]. Android games cost much lesser.
But I am also aware of Apple already having the Apple TV out there, but heck! android is something i can control, something i can modify. Imagine one can do all the possible modding and over clocking that we usually do to an android phone. A very valid consideration. I just hope to own one of them soon...
Android Smart TV:
Imagine a whole TV running on Android, nothing plugged in.. No Ouya or the Mini PC, but switch on the TV and you are greeted by the home screen of ICS. Well, the Chinese don't have to imagine that! Coz, they got the Lenovo Android 4.0 Smart TV. Actually it makes the Samsung Smart TV look like crap [consider the fact that this one run fully on Android - Samsung owned!]. A TV with Dual core processor is commendable, but makes me wonder! Damn can I stick that chip anywhere?? But yea, with a 5 Megger cam and 2 remotes [one game pad and a normal remote with mic for voice commands] this is really rocking the base of what J L Baird first envisioned as a TV. No longer an idiot box, it has as much of computing power as your phone and can run any android game with as much as fluidity as one would expect on a premium smartphone, except! hold on a min - rather than a 5 inch screen, here you are greeted with a 55 inch screen!
Mother of ...!!
Android GPS System:
And now moving from the comforts of our home to umm.. comforts of our cars, the android followed us into the onboard GPS device too!
Well, it has been a pre-installed device on most high end luxury cars - BMW, Audi, Mercs.. But now we find such devices sold separately on the markets as well! I found this interesting Gizmo while trolling around the internet.
Dynavin E-46, a basic Android based navigation system that not only tells you the way, but also serves as a media hub. Running on Android 2.2 [not the latest, but still! its android] you have all the basic access to the market [now called Play store] and all the apps you can download from that [which is needless to say - games, players, maps etc]. One may sync the device with another android phone and this just extends the practical usability. It hasn't been so popular to create any noticeable market footprint in the Sat-Nav market though. Now I can only imagine what else it can be used for. Maybe optimizing your engine with a touch of a button? Over-clock your engine?! Wow, won't that be wicked! The possibilities are endless...
And well there are a a lot more.. however not significant as to add to this list. But this mind-blowing applications are more than enough to understand that the potential of Android is not just limited to phones but beyond. And we all know why that is so... coz we have control! Unlike some other OS-es [ahem..iOS]
As more and more applications unfurls we are bound to be amazed by a much more colorful and smarter range of products like never seen before..
Go green People!!
@/\/!
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