Turn your TV into an Android tablet

A number of devices that will turn your HDTV into a functioning Android tablet are slated to hit the market this year. The popularity and open source nature of the Android platform coupled with inexpensive hardware has given rise to a number of startups looking to turn ordinary TVs into smart TVs. These devices are mini-computers using cell phone microprocessors to bring the Android experience to TVs with HDMI ports.

No less than 3 startups, each promising to bring the Android platform to your TV, have been successfully funded through Kickstarter, the popular crowd-sourced funding platform. Pocket TV, OUYA, and Equiso Smart TV easily exceeded their funding goals. Pocket TV and Equiso are preparing for production and future shipments while OUYA is still in development.

Pocket TV, from the startup Infinitech, will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1GHz ARM A9 processor with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory. A microSD slot will support an additional 32GB of memory. WiFi and Bluetooth are supported and the device will be capable of displaying a 1080p resolution. Prices start at $129 for the infrared remote Pocket TV and $149 for the gyroscopic, Wii-like remote with keyboard.

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Is the Best Android Tablet Available Made for Kids?

         

If you’ve been considering investing in a tablet for your child, you’ve got lots of options these days. Just do a Google search on tablets for kids and you’ll find plenty of comparisons and reviews of the various brands that are currently available. Last November I wrote a review on the Nabi (Korean for Butterfly) — I was very impressed with the tablet, but it was my (then) 4 year old son who really enjoyed playing with it. The Nabi came with over $150 worth of pre-loaded games, ebooks, and other services, and the 7″ tablet running Android had a kid-friendly interface that was locked and prevented kids from installing apps, making purchases, visiting unapproved websites, and much more. This Nabi Mode (as it’s called) could be easily disabled with a password and the tablet would then become a fully functional Android that an adult could use, including access to an app store, YouTube, and much more. With the tap of a single button, the Adult Mode could be turned off and the Nabi returned to the kid version.

Interestingly enough, over the last few weeks I’ve received three emails from three different individuals asking about the Nabi and their inability to purchase one. What I was unable to do at the time was respond to their emails with any specific information. You see, I was provided a test version of the new Nabi 2… and in order to test it out, I had to agree to an embargo to not discuss the tablet until a specific date. Today’s date, actually. So I think there’s going to be at least three people out there who are going to be very happy to hear about the Nabi 2, but hopefully many more — because the Nabi 2 is a solid improvement on the original, with some major upgrades and updates.

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