Mini Computer,1080P Dual-core Android 4.1 TV Box MK808 Mini PC

• Extremely Handy and Portable, Weights Less Than 50g
• Networking:WiFi 802.11b/g/n 10/100Mbps With internal Antenna
• Graphics Type:Quad Core Mali400, Supports 1080P video (1920*1080)
• Gaming:Built-in 3D Accelerator. Supports 3D gaming with it's powerful Mali400 GPU
• Includes Android Market Google Play

I was skeptical when I read the specs and what people try to use it for, but it was cheap enough to try and I would always another use for it anyhow. So the stick arrived as promised and I immediately attached it to my LCD TV. It is small, noiseless, low power and has all things necessary: You can attach your wireless mouse and keyboard to it, you can attach your regular USB Webcam to it and I even tried my 3TB external HD and it worked perfectly. It has Android 4.1.1 with Google Play preinstalled. You just login to your Google account and all your previously purchased android apps show up for download and install. All my apps installed without any problems. Some apps were there to start with like Skype. There are also some media players but their default language is Chinese and I could not find a way to change it. I had something else in mind for media player anyhow: XMBC. It has a new android version and it does almost everything the PC version does. I immediately attached my two NAS drives (TonidoPlug) and it started indexing the Video, Music and Photo files. You can install many different plugins. I installed subtitle plug in and enabled AirPlay: You can stream direcly from your iOS device to the XMBC server as if it is an Apple TV box. I tried various media files stored on my NAS. All played well including subtitles that XMBC found over the internet. Wireless performance was great. The stick was able to display 1080p movies nicely without getting choppy. I tried a few games as well. Playing with a mouse is not the same as using touch on a screen but it works much better than I thought. Apparently you can use XBOX 360 controllers with this stick as well but I did not try. I tried Skype with video and it worked great as well. My webcam is not high quality so the video was pretty grainy but it worked. All in all I am impressed. XMBC will replace my Sony Media Player which replaced my laptop running Boxee. This little stick will save me power, provide better quality video for many different codecs, enhance my TV as a Skype screen and if necessary I will be able to remote desktop to my desktop and use this as a Thin client remotely. I am very happy and plan to get another one for my basement TV.

Buy Mini Computer,1080P Dual-core Android 4.1 TV Box MK808 Mini PC Now

I have always been a steadfast full fledged hardware fan. When seeing these I admit I thought there was no way that they could possible do anything other than break.

I have found that not only do they work, they work so well that I have outfitted pretty much every single TV I own with them. Using these with a server system like Plex really allows for a flexibility that is very rare. Flat mounting a tv with one of these behind it basically allows for a screen anywhere system.

I don't get dropped wifi and I don't have any heat issues. What I do have is a very cheap amazing little system that plays everything, works as a computer, and fulfills every need I have.

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This device powered up right away. It came with ICS 4.1.1, and connected to a Logitech K520 keyboard and mouse. The main problem (I just contacted the vendor by email, and they suggested that I try changing the resolution in Android settings... which I told them I did try but it only results in the monitor reporting "no signal") is that it will not connect at 1920x1080 to a popular LCD HDTV such as our Samsung 2333HD LCD TV one any of its HDMI inputs. This is a supported mode on that LCD and it will connect to a computer on the same HDMI input at 1920x1080. When I set the Android module to 1920x1080 the LCD reports "no input" and automatically falls back to 1280x720. If I cannot get this resolved I will have to return it. I also tried multiple monitors at 1680x1050 or 1600x1200 but those resolutions are not supported by the stick, so can only default to a lower resolution (1280x720). This 720p resolution doesn't scale nicely on the monitor and looks coarse and grainy.

Since this module "thinks" it is a mobile device, it is almost impossible to use it to type an email or edit, for example, a google document. Every time you move an attached mouse, it seems to interpret that as a finger swipe and "helpfully" pops up an on-screen keyboard -which covers more than half the screen! Happily there is a fix: search for "null keyboard" in Play Store and select it as your input method in settings. This gets rid of the annoying onscreen keyboard.

Another issue not a bug, but you should be aware of it the only way to get sound out of the module is by the HDMI cable, which requires a monitor with HDMI input and built-in speakers. There's no headphone jack. So for example you can't connect it to a DVI-input monitor with external speakers unless you come up with some way to get the sound out of the HDMI connector. This is a bit of a problem for me as I have several DVI monitors with 1600x1200 resolution which would otherwise be a nice fit for this stick.

For me the current biggest issue is the problem connecting at 1920x1080. If I get this resolved I will update this review. If there is any kind of Android drive update I can install (I haven't found one) or if anyone else has solved this problem, or found other monitors which connect at 1920x1080, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Update Feb 05: Turns out this is a known issue with the MK808. See for example where others report it won't support anything over 720p. If you are just playing videos you might not notice since many of them are 720p or less. There is supposedly a fix out, so I will try it.

Update Feb 06: So the update to fix the 1080p issue turns out not to be an "official" update on the Rockchip site, but one that has been "provided" (whatever that means) by the Rockchip manufacturer in China, with file too big to be virus scanned at google docs, or smaller files hosted at a dodgy offshore sharing site (files now removed). Does this make anyone else a bit nervous? So I am throwing in the towel and asking to return this. It's sold as a 1080p device so it should work at 1080p: end of story.

This device has potential. If you want to watch 720p content now, it may work well for you. If you want 1080p resolution (really needed for web browsing or Google document editing) best to wait for updates and bug fixes which come installed by the manufacturer. New versions seem to come out every few months so it shouldn't be long. There are other current devices such as Minix Neo G4 which look promising and have audio output on headphone jack (I have not tried the Minix device).

Update Feb 07:

Cozyswan, the seller, has agreed to accept a return, so that is good news. Thank you to them. Here is the latest (2013 Jan 10) MK808 firmware update I could find, but in the comments you see that 1080p support is still in development.

Also note that this site (Geekbuying) claims that only their MK808 are authentic and will ever be able to get a 1080p output update. Is anyone else as confused as me?

(Final?) update Feb 13:

Cozyswan issued a refund the same day I shipped back the unit and provided the package ID number, and has replied promptly to emails, so they deserve credit for good customer service.

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This device is everything I expected! To be simple, it turns your TV into a fully functioning Android tablet (minus the touch features of course). Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, Hulu, Redbox Instant and all the other hundreds of thousands of games and apps available in the Play Store. I mainly purchased mine for mobility since I can load movies onto a microSD and take it to a friend's house or on family trips for a movie night or gaming.

Initially you will have to plug in a keyboard and mouse for the setup but there are numerous apps available in the Play Store that allow you to use your Android phone/tablet to control the MK808; I personally like DroidMote.

As another reviewer recommended, you should Google "Finless ROM" and flash that firmware ASAP. The Jelly Bean build that comes pre-bundled is already unlocked with root access but contains tons of Chinese bloatware. The Finless ROM removes the bloatware in addition to adding features such as safe shutdown (much safer than just pulling the power cable as default), being able to hide the status bar (great for the full movie experience) and the RK Remote app which does the same features as the DroidMote mentioned above but for free.

Overall, you will enjoy this device.

I bought this to connect to my bedroom TV in hopes that it would be able to run XBMC and stream 1080p mkv files over my home network, i'm happy to report that it CAN do this, but not with XBMC.

XBMC doesnt know how to properly use the hardware acceleration available in this Android stick so what you end up with is a bunch of choppiness and sound that is out of sync.

If you want it to work properly, you have to do the unthinkable. Give the Chinese manufacturers a little credit.

Use the file browser that came with the stick to browse your local network, find the file that you want to play and open it. It will ask you what app you want to use in order to play the HD file, choose the one that has the Chinese characters in the name. It's something like (PPP Player). Choose "Always" use this program.

Now whenever you open a file from a local disk, or network it will automatically render it using the custom media player that came with the device, and knows how to properly use the hardware to decode high bitrate HD files.

I have tested this using a 14gb Avatar BD rip in mkv format and it's butter smooth with no stuttering.

Another thing to consider if you want the best possible playback is going into Settings > Developer Options and checking the box that says "Kill Tasks once you've left them". This will make sure that whatever application you're using is the only application taking up resources. So when you start a movie/tv show it will kill the background tasks and ensure a smooth playback.

Hope this will save some people a lot of time, I know I spent days futzing with XBMC before I realized the common sense solution.

PS: If you want to stream high bitrate files over your network the built in Wi-Fi isnt good enough, you need ethernet, I bought this and it works flawlessly with the MK808: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007IFED/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1