Infinitec, a startup company lead by a small team of engineers, programmers and designers, has introduced the Pocket TV, an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) based HDMI dongle that converts any TV into a Smart TV.
The Pocket TV operates as a fully functioning micro-computer the size of your thumb with a processing power that will allow you to display Android on your TV, turning it into a mega-sized tablet. You can download apps from the Google Play Store to stream videos, play games, connect with friends on Facebook, catch up on news, do some work or simply surf the web. You can even attach a video camera to do Skype video-calls on your TV.
The Pocket TV features two remote control options, a standard IR Remote or an Air Remote.
Watch a video of it in action by clicking here.
“Our motivation to create the Pocket TV was that we found ourselves with too many gadgets. Nowadays we had a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop and we thought wouldn’t it be great to have one small portable solution that did what all these gadgets do but on a big screen TV,” said Ahmad Zahran, founder of Infinitec. “Pocket TV will give users a simple solution to accessing their digital life, surfing the internet, streaming video, playing games, doing video-conferences and much more from anywhere and on any TV or monitor. Unlike with smartphones and tablets they will be able to do all this on a large screen with something that literally fits into their pocket.”
The Pocket TV features two remote control options, a standard IR Remote or an Air Remote. The standard IR Remote will ship with every Pocket TV. It uses an infrared signal like a TV and gives you the ability to control the Pocket TV using the up, down, side arrows and several buttons. The Air Remote is a smart remote which has a gyroscopic sensor that allows you to control your Pocket TV by moving it around (like a Wii controller). The motion of your hands will automatically be converted to signals and the cursor on your TV will follow your movements, up, down or sideways.
In addition to the above remote options, you can control the Pocket TV from your smartphone or by programming your universal remote control. Last, the Pocket TV features a USB port so you can attach an external hard drive, a wireless keyboard and mouse or a video camera for video calls. It also has a Micro SD Card slot for extra storage.
Recently surpassing over $100,000 in pledges, the Pocket TV can be pre-ordered for a limited pre-order price of $99 (regular price $160) at: kickstarter.com.
