Archos reveals Android-powered TV Connect, puts Play store on your big screen

January 3rd, 2013, 21:49 Posted By: wraggster

There are plenty of ways to get Android on your TV -- from smartphone docks, to dongles and even the officially sanctioned Google TV. But most of them are missing something, be it a simple way to control them or access to the full Play store. Archos is aiming to solve those conundrums with its new TV Connect, an Android computer, complete with HD camera and a handheld remote with a pair pointer sticks used to simulate a multitouch screen. Under the hood is a 1.5GHz "multi core" CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. For networking you can go old school and plug in an Ethernet line or lose the cables and rely on WiFi. The remote has more control options than you could possibly desire crammed in a form factor that's more than a little reminiscent of a certain failed Atari console. In addition to the pair of pointer sticks, there's a full QWERTY keypad, a directional pad, four game buttons, the standard Android keys and volume controls -- not to mention you can move an onscreen cursor simply by pointing the remote at your TV.
The strongest selling point of the TV Connect, however, is its unfettered access to the Google Play store. That means its vast repositories of music, movies and TV shows are available to you but, more importantly, so are the hundreds of thousands of apps like Netflix, Google Talk and Skype. The Jelly Bean running set top box will be hitting shelves in February for $130.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/03/a...ed-tv-connect/

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