I just caught wind of Equiso’s Kickstarter project today and now I’m kicking myself for not getting in on the $39 early bird pledge ...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028163448/equiso-smart-tv-turn-any-tv-into-a-smart-tv

It’s a slick little HDMI dongle paired with a great interactive remote that has a qwerty keyboard on the back.

It basically turns any HDTV or device with an HDMI port into an Android tablet.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRcKxrIJzB4

...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GORoxLJiQA

BTW ... any Android users out there? I’m wondering how you’re liking it? (I need to get a new phone soon and I’m debating whether I should get an Android phone)

I have an android tablet:

Pluses:
-I'm not a hostage to the 'You must do things LIKE THIS' mentality
-Will play any media, and will transfer files easily
-Tons of apps (vs my Windows Phone anyway) I think my iPad has more though

Minuses
-Buggy, crashes a lot, lacking polish in some areas
-Apps are confusing, some work with some devices, others don't

My iPhone is very polished, beautiful hi res display. It never crashes, but it seems like every time I turn it on it costs me $5. WP7 has an awesome, intuitive, very functional interface. But Apps are waaaay behind, and 80% of them look like a 3 year old made them. PLus the iPhone screen is waaaay small.

Have you seen this?

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/07/mk802-android-4-0-mini-pc-hands-on-impressions/

My buddy ordered one, will let you know how well it works when I get to see it.

Also, he showed me Android 4 on his tablet, and it looks pretty nice overall, and more intuitive than earlier versions.

@stallin, thanks for the info!

@50cal, I realize other Android 4.0 devices exist, but the Equiso remote looks damn cool ... no external keyboard or mouse required. Looking forward to your MK802 review tho ...

Interesting, our Sony Google tv does that. Would breathe new life into an aging tv, it's getting hard to imagine a tv that doesn't do these things now.

I have actually been looking to find something like that so let me know how it works out. I am very tempted to kickstart that equiso in pro version (99 bucks).

I backed them at the pro level. 1gig of ram seems like the minimum for this sort of thing.

There are only 2 hrs left and they are close to their wifi direct stretch goal so I hope they make that.

I received mine a while back and I must admit it is a useless piece of junk. Great idea on paper and poor implementation. Hell I cant even get the thing to connect to the internet let alone log into my google account and download an ap. what good is a smart tv with no applications?

I wish I didnt back them and that will probably be my only piece of electronics I ever fund on kickstarter. I should have known better than to buy an alpha prototype.