The smart TV concept usually means a device designed to hook up to the web and display extra content, and to play almost everything stored on memory cards and local drives. However, Xiaomi has decided to add a twist with its Mi TV 2, a 40-inch model that incorporates ARM hardware and uses a variant of Android as its operating system, enabling access to apps and games.
The drop in the cost of LCD televisions (whether smart or not) has been remarkable. It would be a true pleasure to find similar drops in smartphones and computers, but scale and demand determine the final price. At the same time, it is much harder to convince the consumer to buy a new TV without a World Cup or Olympic Games, so the value of each unit must be tempting enough. Some markets have proven very complex for Western companies, because they didn't fully solve the "inconvenience" of price.
Inside the Mi TV 2
All these details inevitably lead us to China, where Xiaomi seems to be teaching the rest of its competitors a lesson. The aggressiveness in pricing of its products surprises everyone, and this time it decided to apply it to smart TVs with its brand-new Mi TV 2. Xiaomi's official forums describe two Mi TV 2 models, but the one that brings us here today has a 40-inch screen with 1080p resolution (the other is 4K, with 49 inches). Inside we find a Sharp panel, a quad-core MStar 6A908 SoC running at 1.1 or 1.45 GHz (there are conflicting reports about the frequency), 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of storage, WiFi n and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, three HDMI ports, two USB ports (2.0 and 3.0), an Ethernet connector, and two 2.25-inch speakers. The operating system is MIUI, based on Android 4.4, but it is expected to get an update to Lollipop soon.
Price and Availability
The thickness of the Mi TV 2 reaches 14.4 millimeters, and it will be available in several colors. As with many Xiaomi products, it is likely to be hard to acquire the Mi TV 2 outside of China. Even so, its price of 320 dollars gives us hope. It will arrive on shelves on March 31.
