elangoas
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I accidentally came across this product in Flipkart when searching for a mobile...Then started a bit of reading about similar products aval..Most of them were aval in most of the e-commerce sites...i guess they had warranty..But not very sure if we can claim it... most of them were aval for around 5- 8K with Android 4.x OS & with a mouse...All of them were having the same OS in mobiles with no customization for TV...
This is where Woxi Media was little different..They had customized the Android OS for multiple user logins on this product so that you don't have to logout & login in just one screen...Moreover you get 1 year warranty with the product...this was a blind buy as i couldn't take a demo of the product in Chennai...WoxiMedia have a tie-up with Tata Croma in other cities..
The most important thing is a keyboard when we browse on TV...really comes in handy...Otherwise would become very difficult with mouse & on screen keyboard...
More information on the product.. Woxi Media: Connecting Everyone - SmartPod
Ordered it thru Flipkart, paid Rs 8,500/-... Lightning fast delivery by Flipkart (as always) considering that i stay 45 Kms away from chennai...
Here are some pictures of the product...
The packing. Accesories In the box - HDMI Cable, cables to connect CRT (Composite with stereo)...
WoxiMedia Smartpod in Action...
Customized Keyboard for using with android OS..
Whoever logins for the first time will be the Super user for this smartpod...In this case it was my wife who did this..The product was delivered when i was in office..So i guided her in setting it up & running....
Pictures of the home screen with user details...
you are asked to enter PIN for your account whenever you login..
My user account home screen
Appcasts logo is self explanatory (Cloud based customized android applications by WoxiMedia)..No need to download..Very neatly customized covers pretty good range (Almost 100 of them aval as of now)...was able to watch good quality videos wihtout issues..
WAppcasts screen shown below
Then your apps as the second icon in your home screen....
Some games come pre installed on the smartpod ( Angry Birds Rio, Fruit Ninja)..Some of them are HD i believe..
Watching Youtube, browsing & accessing facebook on the big screen is a never before experience and is extremely fascinating....:yahoo:
Browsing the web
Accessing Facebook
Hope you enjoyed the pictures...Juz wanted to give a detailed info for those who don't get an oppurtunity for demo... Ok moving to the review....
Components used for the review :
Broadband Connection : BSNL (UL 1000 Plan) unlimited download with 4 Mbps speed until 20GB..Beyond that 512 Kbps...
Internet Connection Type : Used both ethernet & wi-fi connection...
LCD TV : Sony 46 inches Full HD LCD TV (Model 46CX520)
Audio/Video Connectivity : HDMI out from Woxi Smartpod to HDMI in Sony LCD TV
Receiver : Onkyo HT-R540 (Non HDMI) thru optical from TV.
User interface & Customized OS for TV : - I love it :clapping:
Very well customized & you nver get a feel anywhere that you are actually using an Android OS until you get in to the settings & notice 2.3.4.. Very nice colour theme make the navigation across screens feel uber cool. Job very well done..Though i feel that the home screen category icons should have reduced size and should be moved to the top right hand corner with highlighted background... So the moment you click on any of the category icon (Appcasts, Apps, Games, Media & Browser), the screen space below tham should display the applications pertaining to that section.. This makes life easier.. Else you will have to use the return key twice on the keyboard...
Every time you download apps from google play, you are asked where to add this app to which category (For Apps, Games,media)
Hardware
This system has a good Dual core processor, decent graphics (ARM Mali 400 GPU), 512 MB RAM & 4 GB internal memory ( Around 3.3 GB usable for user). it is capable of giving 1080p output to your TV.... For using all the applications except gaming this works fine.. When you play some heavy games, the screen started to flicker ( Air attack HD).. So i had to turn down the resolution to 1080i...then the flicker stopped.. Also there was a bit of lag sometimes ( I guess 2 GB RAM would be a killer, 1 GB RAM would be adequate).. Although when i checked the usage of RAM, it showed around 300 MB RAM free..
Browsing :
it has Open internet browser (Didn't understand what it is).. I was able to use Firefox.. Chroms is possible only with android 4.x OS...It is a superb experience for anyone who hasn't done this on a big screen...You also have page up & down buttons for scrolling the entire page..There is no need to zoom in the conetent sitting at 10 feet away from the TV..(or) with a little zooming, it is fabulous...
Media playback :
Audio - Stereo - Since this is Android 2.3.4, the audio playback is greatly restricted to MP3 & WAV among the common formats..An upgrade to Android 3.x/4.x would make it play FLAC...
Video - I played a movie file (MKV format) around 10GB size which as DTS audio codec from SD card (16GB)...It wasn't able to decode the audio.. Only 2 settings were aval in the menu (PCM & RAW)...I guess an additional hardware of multichaneel decoding dts /Dolby digital out would be a great feature..
What is good about the product : :thumbsup:
--> Multiuser login
--> Beautiful User interface
--> Woxi Appcasts (Access app from cloud)
--> Reasonably good keyboard (Quick access to Woxi appcasts with dedicated key)
--> External hard Disk support (Didn't check it - will upate in few days)
Room for improvements :
--> upgrade in OS to Android 3.x/4.x
--> Upgrade in RAM (Atleast 1 GB)
--> switching between user profiles like windows..(every time you need to logout & login)
--> mutichannel decoding
--> 1080p capability for good resolution games...(Otherwise perfect)
--> dedicated keys for browser, media, games & settings to quickly access/edit content.
Hope this helps in understanding the product better..
Let me know if you want to know more information, i can update after checking..
Thank You
Elango
I accidentally came across this product in Flipkart when searching for a mobile...Then started a bit of reading about similar products aval..Most of them were aval in most of the e-commerce sites...i guess they had warranty..But not very sure if we can claim it... most of them were aval for around 5- 8K with Android 4.x OS & with a mouse...All of them were having the same OS in mobiles with no customization for TV...
This is where Woxi Media was little different..They had customized the Android OS for multiple user logins on this product so that you don't have to logout & login in just one screen...Moreover you get 1 year warranty with the product...this was a blind buy as i couldn't take a demo of the product in Chennai...WoxiMedia have a tie-up with Tata Croma in other cities..
The most important thing is a keyboard when we browse on TV...really comes in handy...Otherwise would become very difficult with mouse & on screen keyboard...
More information on the product.. Woxi Media: Connecting Everyone - SmartPod
Ordered it thru Flipkart, paid Rs 8,500/-... Lightning fast delivery by Flipkart (as always) considering that i stay 45 Kms away from chennai...
Here are some pictures of the product...
The packing. Accesories In the box - HDMI Cable, cables to connect CRT (Composite with stereo)...
WoxiMedia Smartpod in Action...
Customized Keyboard for using with android OS..
Whoever logins for the first time will be the Super user for this smartpod...In this case it was my wife who did this..The product was delivered when i was in office..So i guided her in setting it up & running....
Pictures of the home screen with user details...
you are asked to enter PIN for your account whenever you login..
My user account home screen
Appcasts logo is self explanatory (Cloud based customized android applications by WoxiMedia)..No need to download..Very neatly customized covers pretty good range (Almost 100 of them aval as of now)...was able to watch good quality videos wihtout issues..
WAppcasts screen shown below
Then your apps as the second icon in your home screen....
Some games come pre installed on the smartpod ( Angry Birds Rio, Fruit Ninja)..Some of them are HD i believe..
Watching Youtube, browsing & accessing facebook on the big screen is a never before experience and is extremely fascinating....:yahoo:
Browsing the web
Accessing Facebook
Hope you enjoyed the pictures...Juz wanted to give a detailed info for those who don't get an oppurtunity for demo... Ok moving to the review....
Components used for the review :
Broadband Connection : BSNL (UL 1000 Plan) unlimited download with 4 Mbps speed until 20GB..Beyond that 512 Kbps...
Internet Connection Type : Used both ethernet & wi-fi connection...
LCD TV : Sony 46 inches Full HD LCD TV (Model 46CX520)
Audio/Video Connectivity : HDMI out from Woxi Smartpod to HDMI in Sony LCD TV
Receiver : Onkyo HT-R540 (Non HDMI) thru optical from TV.
User interface & Customized OS for TV : - I love it :clapping:
Very well customized & you nver get a feel anywhere that you are actually using an Android OS until you get in to the settings & notice 2.3.4.. Very nice colour theme make the navigation across screens feel uber cool. Job very well done..Though i feel that the home screen category icons should have reduced size and should be moved to the top right hand corner with highlighted background... So the moment you click on any of the category icon (Appcasts, Apps, Games, Media & Browser), the screen space below tham should display the applications pertaining to that section.. This makes life easier.. Else you will have to use the return key twice on the keyboard...
Every time you download apps from google play, you are asked where to add this app to which category (For Apps, Games,media)
Hardware
This system has a good Dual core processor, decent graphics (ARM Mali 400 GPU), 512 MB RAM & 4 GB internal memory ( Around 3.3 GB usable for user). it is capable of giving 1080p output to your TV.... For using all the applications except gaming this works fine.. When you play some heavy games, the screen started to flicker ( Air attack HD).. So i had to turn down the resolution to 1080i...then the flicker stopped.. Also there was a bit of lag sometimes ( I guess 2 GB RAM would be a killer, 1 GB RAM would be adequate).. Although when i checked the usage of RAM, it showed around 300 MB RAM free..
Browsing :
it has Open internet browser (Didn't understand what it is).. I was able to use Firefox.. Chroms is possible only with android 4.x OS...It is a superb experience for anyone who hasn't done this on a big screen...You also have page up & down buttons for scrolling the entire page..There is no need to zoom in the conetent sitting at 10 feet away from the TV..(or) with a little zooming, it is fabulous...
Media playback :
Audio - Stereo - Since this is Android 2.3.4, the audio playback is greatly restricted to MP3 & WAV among the common formats..An upgrade to Android 3.x/4.x would make it play FLAC...
Video - I played a movie file (MKV format) around 10GB size which as DTS audio codec from SD card (16GB)...It wasn't able to decode the audio.. Only 2 settings were aval in the menu (PCM & RAW)...I guess an additional hardware of multichaneel decoding dts /Dolby digital out would be a great feature..
What is good about the product : :thumbsup:
--> Multiuser login
--> Beautiful User interface
--> Woxi Appcasts (Access app from cloud)
--> Reasonably good keyboard (Quick access to Woxi appcasts with dedicated key)
--> External hard Disk support (Didn't check it - will upate in few days)
Room for improvements :
--> upgrade in OS to Android 3.x/4.x
--> Upgrade in RAM (Atleast 1 GB)
--> switching between user profiles like windows..(every time you need to logout & login)
--> mutichannel decoding
--> 1080p capability for good resolution games...(Otherwise perfect)
--> dedicated keys for browser, media, games & settings to quickly access/edit content.
Hope this helps in understanding the product better..
Let me know if you want to know more information, i can update after checking..
Thank You
Elango
