Neowin: Smartron S805 Android TV box review

Neowin

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If you haven't done so already, make sure to check out the unboxing of the Smartron S805 for more pics and our first impressions of the media player.

Design, ports and expansion

The Smartron S805 measures in at 10.2cm x 10.2cm x 2.2cm. It features a shiny black plastic at the top and the rest is matt plastic. The device itself is square and symmetrical, however, it has rounded corners which improve its visual appeal. The top is marked with an 'S' representing the Smartron brand.

The sides are covered with little 1mm holes, but the holes are purely aesthetic and do not penetrate all the way through the plastic. At the front of the device is a small window for the infrared receiver. There is also an LED alongside it to indicate whether the device is on or not, and it changes colors between different modes: when the device is first booting, the LED is red, but once the device is fully booted it shifts over to a more neutral blue.

On the right side of the device are two full-sized USB 2.0 ports, as well as a Micro SD expansion port. Moving to the back of the device, it has a 3.5mm AV jack, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a full-sized HDMI port and a DC-in port for power. The AV port mentioned earlier has two functions: it can either be used as an RCA alternative for the HDMI port for older TV's that do not have HDMI-in, or it can be used as a 3.5mm audio-out port for anyone who wants to connect external 3.5mm audio. The left side of the device doesn't have any ports.

But aside from its design or hardware specs what' really interesting about the S805 is this relatively unknown device finally gets TV navigation right.

Read the full article here.

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Grrrrr. The market is flooded with these things.Someone needs to make one that makes all others irrelevant, then license it to TV manufacturers.

For people that can't afford fancy TV's, I'd like to see only a handful of these boxes available, not twenty.
 
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For somebody that has Roku, Apple Tv, Chromecast, and LG smart TV....WHAT is so appealing about this Android box that would make me go out there and waste my money? Convince me, and I'll buy it - but until then -NO way!
 
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