Today Samsung is making good on a promise from earlier this year at CES with regards to the planned Smart Evolution Kit. The kit, which includes a Samsung Smart Remote, will contain a faster quad-core processor, a new GPU and additional memory that equipped televisions can utilize for faster multitasking and overall general performance when using Smart TV apps.
The upgrade kit can be installed via a proprietary slot on 7500 and 8000 series LED televisions as well as 7000 and 8000 series plasma sets built in 2012. The kit will retail for $299 this May which could be a tough sell for someone that just purchased a brand new high-end television less than a year ago.
The included Smart Remote allows users to interact with their Smart TV using voice and gesture control. A quick check on Google surprisingly showed no shopping results but if I had to guess, the remote would probably sell for $100 or so on it's own.
It's cheaper than buying a brand new television, yes, but one has to wonder just how often the average consumer replaces their primary TV. I've had my current plasma screen for nearly five years and have no plans on replacing it until it dies. Then again, however, I'm not a huge home theater buff either so I could see where there could be an appeal. Perhaps staggering the upgrade every few years would be a more reasonable approach for someone like me.