THE SMART DECISION TO BUY A SMART BOX. BUY THE KING OF SMART BOXES - MK808 ANDROID MINI PC WITH ANDROID 4.1 JELLY BEAN

"PATHBREAKING INNOVATION TODAY IS OUTDATED TOMORROW"

This is the mantra of this fast paced IT world. Things that create and leave onlookers gasped in question "How can this be?", "Is this really possible?" are forgotten in a wink. What amazes you now will be history and obsolete the next second. This is pretty much the storyline of any new gadget that hits the tech world. Case in question is the 'Android Mini PC' Hunt. Most of us just turned their attention on the fact that there exists a USB dongle sized PC (MK802), which fits in your hand, and some more (techsavy) would be aware of the upgrade on the MK802, the UG802, which has a dual core 1.2G mini pc. Well hello, the world is fast moving and we have moved on from the UG802. We now have the latest and the fastest 'Android Mini PC' "THE MK808" 

We attempt here to compare the MK808 with its immediate predecessor and to make things simple, we would be comparing more visually than technically. ( Although we would have a seperate blog for technical comparison too.) We would attempt to rate them as we go along.

So here it goes,

1. BOX PACKING

To start with elementary comparisons we matched the boxes of  MK808 & UG802. As can be seen in the Picture, the MK808's packaging is much more appealing and professional as compared to the UG802 ( cardboard box pack). 

+1 for the MK808

2. PACKAGE CONTENTS

The UG802 Package consists of the following:

1. UG802 Dongle

2. HDMI Cable  (Female to Male)

3. USB Cable (USB to Mini USB) for Power

4. USB Power Adapter

5. Of course, the Manual

The MK808 Package has the following:

1. MK808 Dongle

2. HDMI Cable, Mini HDMI to HDMI

3. USB Cable for Charging / Power

4. USB to Mini USB adapter ( Female to Male) for connecting wireless keyboard and / or mouse

3. LOOKS AND DIMENSIONS:

Initial feel on looking at the 2 devices, UG802 & MK808, is eventhough they are similar, MK808 retaining more of the MK802 characteristics, and both have a matt rubberized finish, the main difference between the two is MK808 has an HDMI slot (it needs a HDMI cable to connect), and an extra OTG slot, while UG802 is equipped with an HDMI port (it directly connects to other devices). 

Also, MK802 is stout but small in height and width, whereas UG802 is slimmer but wider and taller. (check  out the pics) 

Length Comparison between UG802 (Left) & MK808 (Right)

MK808 (above) is thicker than UG802 (below)

HDMI PORT COMPARISON

HDMI port Comparison (UG802 Left & MK808 right)

MK808 weight 46 gms

UG802 weight 35 gms

Thickness comparison

4. HEAT GENERATION

One of the biggest problem people complained about the original mk802 was heat generation.When we begin to run mk802 for more than one hour,it starts getting hot (not warm but hot). 

When it comes to UG802, the special ventilation holes design efficiently solves the heating problem. The latest MK808 does even better. The MK808 has 2 cooling plates to take away heat from it,so it'll make sure that the device doesn't get hot at all. 

5. WIFI Signal
Well, sometimes a weak wifi signal annoys us very much (and this is actually an issue with your operator), but you won't see that happen in MK808 again. To strengthen the wifi signals, MK808 features two enhanced antennas and more updated technology, which definitely takes care of the the wifi signal dropping problem like it never existed.

6. AKAI LAUNCHES THE  "SMART BOX" (LATEST ENTRANT IN INDIAN MARKET)

Well, recently the Japanese consumer electronics firm Akai launched a 'Smart Box', which allows users to surf Internet on any television sets, at a price of Rs. 6,590 in India (Well pretty much like other hundreds of android TV boxes which are available). But for India this was a revolution!!!. Akai's MD Mr. Pranay Dhabhai said "Our Smart box is set to change the way people watch television in India. TVs, irrespective of whether it's a colour TV or LCDs and LEDs, are compatible with the device and using Smart Box can be converted into a smart television,".

Well, to be honest, technologically though the Indian Market is not as aware of developments in Smart TV Boxes and also 3D Converter Boxes, and so Any new product which is innovative but not top notch ( in terms of configuration) would do well. But the sad part is that the people behind bring such a Smart Box would, I'm sure, be fully aware of the latest and the hottest gadgets floating around the world. Then why such an outdated configuration?

Lets see the configuration: Smart Box is powered by a 1.25-Ghz processor, comes with a wireless mouse for navigation. It is equipped with 4GB internal memory, expandable upto 32GB through SD card slot.

Similar to Apple TV, Smart Box is a digital media device which allows users to access content like videos, games and websites using WiFi and broadband connection.

The Smart Box has 4 USB ports, hard drives as well as connect to Internet using 3G dongle.

The device connects to the internet using LAN, WiFi as well as 3G. 

It also acts as a router using which other devices like tablet PCs and laptops can be connected to Internet ( much like a wifi hotspot)

There are similar devices available in the Indian market.In June this year, Amkette had launched its 'EvoTV' priced at Rs. 9,995.
Akai India will sell the devices through ecommerce stores, its website as well large format stores and distribution channels. It will also launch television commercials and digital campaigns for the device.
"Right now, 80 percent of our revenues came from TVs, while the remaining 20 per cent from other consumer durables. Going ahead, we expect this to change to 75 percent (TVs) and 15 percent each from Smart Boxes and consumer durables," he said.

6. WHICH IS THE BEST ANDROID MINI PC / SMART TV BOX IN THE MARKET /WORLD?????

We understand the main question. WHAT IS THE BEST PRODUCT TO BUY AS OF DATE???

MK802 / UG802 / MK808 / AKAI SMART BOX. 

Well if I were you, I would definitely place my bet on the MK808 and here's why....

A. MK802 V/s MK808

Actually,MK808 retains the most design features of MK802 viz, a mini HDMI port, a TF card slot, a mini USB for charging. 

• However, the MK808 has much more powerful dual-core chip which can do more complicated tasks, like 3D games,browse web pages faster and is silky smooth in performance.
• It also has a QUAD CORE GPU as compared to single core gpu in MK802. 
• It efficiently solves the antenna problem and heat generation problem existed in MK802.  

BOTTOM LINE: "MK808 IS WAY AHEAD IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE AS COMPARED TO MK802"

B. UG802 V/s MK808

Putting UG802 and MK808 together,MK808 again scores more and stands out to some extent.

• Firstly, the MK808 packs a revamped RK3066 CPU which is up to 1.6G while the UG802 is just 1.2G. Not that the higher dominant frequency the faster the device runs, but we all like 1.6G instead of 1.2G for almost the same price.
• Secondly, MK808's improved RK3066 chip consumes more or less the same power as the UG802, but the built-in improved cooling technology saves you from worrying about the heat affecting the machine's performance.That is to say if you're satisfied with the UG802's heat emissions,you will definitely be satisfied with MK808.
• Also MK808 comes with one additional USB (OTG) output which is not the case in the UG802. So, using an usb hub becomes inevitable while using the UG802.
• Last but not least,MK808 comes pre-installed with the latest android 4.1 'Jelly Bean' while UG802 runs Android 4.0. 'Ice cream sandwich' People know which one to choose.

BOTTOM LINE: "UG802 is a great improvement over MK802 but MK808 is still the leader "

B. MK808 V/s The Latest AKAI's 'SMART BOX'

Well we don't want the effort to write the words describing a comparison ( or a NO-COMPARISON actually). So we brought in a table below. We're sure you guys can figure it out.

BOTTOM LINE: "AKAI SMART BOX V/S MK808? ARE YOU JOKING???!!! Akai's REVOLUTIONARY DEVICE IS AT BEST IS COMPARABLE TO MK802". And there too MK802 can do far more than AKAI's Smart Box.

Currently all the products (i.e. the MK802, the UG802 & the MK808) are available in India on ebay.in. Please check out the following links.

1. For buying MK802 - Android Mini PC 4.0 - click here

2. For buying UG802 (dual core) - Android Mini PC 4.0 - click here

3. For buying the latest MK808 (dual core) - Android Mini PC 4.1 - click here

Hope you liked this post as much as we liked posting it...

Please don't forget to put your comments and like this post ( in case you liked it) Suggesstions and queries relating to the products mentioned herein are most welcome.

Thank You.