xiaomibox
Latest
Leaked packaging suggests Xiaomi is working on a 47-inch TV (update: TV chassis!)
China's Xiaomi has certainly made a name for itself in the smartphone market, but let's not forget that it has other plans as well. For one, there's the Xiaomi Box, which is the company's first foray into the video content world. And according to the above leak, the next step from there appears to be a 47-inch 1080p TV, which is simply branded as "Xiaomi TV" in Chinese (model number L47M1-AA). Like the Xiaomi Box, this TV will apparently feature built-in WiFi and "MiLink" (Airplay, DLNA plus Miracast), as well as audio certification from Dolby and DTS. More after the break. Update: Well well well, this guy sure has some good contacts. He's now posted a couple of alleged photos of the TV chassis, which has a massive Xiaomi logo bang in the middle. We've got one of the shots after the break.
Xiaomi Box launches in a three-city trial on March 19th at a lower price
The Xiaomi Box has had an arduous road to travel before it could go on sale: Chinese regulations reportedly kept it in limbo until local broadcaster iCNTV stepped in this January to get the ball rolling once again. The end is in sight now that a limited trial is set to start on March 19th. Changsha, Hangzhou and Shanghai will get about 10,000 total units of the Android media hub, whose price is dropping from the originally chosen ¥399 ($64) to an extra-frugal ¥299 ($48). The price slash could well make the set-top box that much more alluring, especially when it's still poised to give both Android and iOS users some media sharing love. Could you please hurry up your release plans, Xiaomi?
Xiaomi Box taps the Chinese smart TV market on the cheap, flirts with AirPlay (hands-on)
The Apple TV may not be officially available in China, but there are already plenty of cheap Android TV dongles and set-top boxes over there to keep the folks occupied. That said, many of them don't offer a satisfying multimedia experience, so even for a latecomer like Xiaomi, there's still space for competition. Having just launched the much anticipated Xiaomi Phone 2, the Chinese startup recently announced that it had acquired digital content provider Duokan for some time, and the first fruit is this conveniently named Xiaomi Box. Even with the bundled one-meter HDMI cable, the pebble's priced at a competitive ¥399 (about $64) and we've been told it'll be available in mid-December. Better yet, it claims to be compatible with AirPlay right out of the box! Read on to see if that's the case with our pre-production unit.
