Hi guys.
edit: summary. This MIUI box runs on a AMLogic M3 CPU that supports hardware decoding. This is a campaign to bulk order VERY cheap and flash that box with a Linux based XBMC build. the price will be around 40 - 60$ US. Update on that will follow.
i hope you don't mind reading a bit. i will try to keep this short. But i really think i found a good deal here.
So. i am sure a lot of you guys heard of MIUI. Both the ROM and the launcher, iconset ect. Well. They also make some really awesome hardware. They started with their phones, which are really beautiful and match up to the specifications of every major brand smartphone out there. A lot of people bash MIUI for looking like IOS. My problem with IOS has nothing to do with how it looks to be honest, but rather that it is so closed and walled in that it in many cases makes it utter useless for what i want to use my devices for. Well anyway. Back to the point. MIUI, better known as Xiaomi has also made a TV box.
I know. there are A LOT of tv minded Android powered devices out there. Nothing short of a flood of them. And they all differ in hardware, specs and look and form. A lot of people bash the Xiaomi TV Box for looking like the Apple TV. And i agree. Mostly with that the remote looks almost identical to the Apple TV remote. i don't really mind though. As i personally like the design aspect of Apple products. ( please don't hate me for that, and do keep reading )
( keep in my the UI has been translated )
The latest Apple TV has yet to see a jailbreak, and most likely never will. The Xiaomi/MIUI TV Box holds the advantage here. It can easily be rooted. Some guys have already translated the UI if you fancy that. That means you can get an Apple TV in looks only, and all the twice-as-awesomeness of Android. That means you could have a very very awesome device. Both in how it looks but also in how it works. But that is not all. In my book it gets even better. The Xiaomi/MIUI TV Box is made with AMLogic M3 CPU. That is at this point the only hardware on the Android devices that supports a Linux based build of XBMC with full hardware accelerated video playback. +1 !!
Suddenly you can have a dedicated XBMC device for your TV for just above 50$ if that is what you fancy. ( as in my case ) Now the closest competitor in this price range is the Raspberry Pi. Now i love my Pi. I love the amazing community and the creativity they come up with in the usage of the RPi. And for XBMC on it. The results are amazing. It plays everything i throw at it and it is by far the most stable XBMC usage i have encountered. ( on the ARM platform ) But the general UI navigation is pretty slow.
This Xiaomi/MIUI box has twice the RAM, a bit more processing power and is not a development board. Instead it is beautiful designed device that should make one amazing Android TV box or dedicated XBMC device.
The only downside i can think of is that the remote button has chinese characters on it. But with only three buttons it really shouldn't matter, and besides. How often do you actually look at the buttons when you are use to it.
So all this writing and for what. Well it is not just to inform you about the MIUI TV box. It is to get people aboard the purchasing train. At the launch. The Xiaomi/MIUI Box was sold for 64$, that price now seem to have gone up to 75$. But i have been in contact with the supplier of the box, and he has promised me 30% discount for a bulk order of 1000 units. That means just 53$ for one useful and nifty little device.
That actually beats the Raspberry Pi since it ends up costing atleast around 100 for a decent class 10 SD card, a case, a remote and maybe even an external wifi dongle.
The Xiaomi/MIUI box has the following specifications:
AMLogic M3 CPU
Cortex-A9 800 MHz Processor
1 GB DDR3 RAM
Ethernet: RJ45 interface, 10M/100M adaptive
Build in WIFI: 802.11b/g/n
Power supply: 5V 2A input, 3.5mm round Port
USB: Micro-USB interface
Standard HDMI 1.3
2.5mm composite video output to support digital audio output
So how about it?
i have started a indiegogo campaign to gather the orders, and once the number is met. Payments and shipping addresses will be transfered to the supplier. And since the device is already made and in stock, the wait is not for any longer than the free shipping takes. The more people that buys a device, the more we can build an awesome userbase that developers can aim for. i really hope that you will jump aboard the project. if nothing else. Go find the device online and order it if you don't mind paying a little extra. This campaign is only to save some people some money and help create a userbase and developing platform while getting the great form factor and design that MIUI offers.
So how about it? Join the campaign. Get your MIUI box.
this was the indiegogo link but hold on
Update: So there is a guy in China writing me. The price there is 48$. for bulk order it could be 70% of that price. that makes this one even cheaper and awesome device. i will follow up on this later to day
