Pocket TV puts Android on any HDMI television

Here's something for anyone who wants a smart tv, or a large screen Android pc, or both but without spending a fortune to do so.

Imagine your tv becoming smart, with wifi internet access, the ability to use your favourite android apps, being able to plug a webcam or external hard drive into it and even playing the latest games on it and controlling them with a wii like wireless controller.

Pocket TV aims to do just that and more. The clever little adapter turns any tv with a HDMI connection into a smart tv. The adapter, running Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will retail with a standard remote for around £100 but a clever air remote can be purchased for a little extra which will let you control it by simply moving the remote through the air in the same way you can control a wii games console, which offers interesting possibilities for gamers.

When it comes to hardware the little dongle packs a large punch. A1 gigahertz Cortex A9 cpu, Mali 400 gpu, 512 megabytes of ram, 4 gigabytes of internal memory and a micro sd slot as well as built in wifi are shoehorned into a sleek card shaped adapter that weighs in at just 35 grams and sits nicely in any HDMI slot without attracting undue attention while turning your tv into a powerful large screen Android computer and allowing you to use everything from BBC iPlayer to Netflix or YouTube on any television with a hdmi input along with, of course, your android apps of choice.

iPhone and Android smartphone users can also use their phones to control the pocket tv. The pocket tv supports three output resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p,and will allow users to do anything a new Android tablet can do which means that those without the budget for a new tablet or an internet connected smart tv can now have the best of both worlds on their existing television.

What does the adapter require? A free hdmi connection on your tv and an electrical socket in which to plug in its power adapter ( a small mini usb type). For internet access you will need a wifi modem or router, if you already have broadband then you most likely already have a wireless modem supplied by your internet provider but if not the pocket tv can still be used as a non internet connected android computer without one.

Pocket TV is a kickstarter project. This means although it has working prototypes it still needs additional funding, if you wish to make a pledge the group behind the project, Infinitec, is offering special low prices so if you want to know more check out this link.