/ 06.08.2010 12:00AM
Android Set-top Box Unveiled
TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Electronics makers
continue coming to market with Android devices, even as Google gets its own
Android TV initiative off the ground. Taiwanese set-top box maker Bonux
revealed an Android-powered peripheral at Computex in Taipei last week. The
company already markets an Android 2.1 powered music player.
The Bonux set-top box runs on a 700 MHz ARM11 CPU that handles 1080p, according
to
CrunchGear, which has a video
of the exhibit. The remote will have a touchpad controller, possibly with
Bluetooth support. The set-top, equipped with an HDMI port, is supposed to go
on sale by the end of the year for $120 to $130. (Engadget has a gallery of images of the device here.)
Google confirmed its Android TV plan in early May after months of speculation
about the venture. (
See “Google TV Revealed.”)
Through a partnership with Sony and Intel, Google’s Android operating system
and its Chrome browser will be incorporated into Sony TV sets. Android-powered
Sony sets are set to become available this fall.
Swedish TV maker People of Lava announced plans in April to make Android-powered
TV sets. Its Scandinavia Television line will come in 42-, 47- and 55-inch
models. The initial specs on the Scandinavia line did not include the U.S. DTV
standard. No release date was announced for the PoL Android line.
-- Deborah D. McAdams