Scandinavia, The World’s First Android TV

While everyone’s busy putting Android in their tablets, a startup from Sweden has been spending their time porting Android onto a different entertainment machine.  That device is the Scandinavia, the world’s first TV running Android OS.

Built by People of Lava (that’s the company name, not a mythical village of volcano fairies), it’s essentially a hybrid TV and computer (it runs an 833Mhz Cortex A8 CPU), similar to Sony’s Google TV.  Except it’s running Android 1.5, with a custom layer that puts a TV-friendly interface over the erstwhile smartphone platform.

Scandinavia is a gorgeous HDTV set, marked by a beautifully-designed stone body, combined with the usual metal and glass parts.  It comes in three sizes (42-inches, 47-inches and 55-inches), all of them featuring 1080p resolution on a LED-backlit display and support for both PAL/SECAM and DVB-T MPEG4 HD.    Available ports include HDMI (3 slots), PC RGB, CVBS, S-Video, component, Scart, USB, coaxial audio, a 3.5mm slot and ethernet.  They’re offering an optional dongle for WiFi.

You can play your own music and videos right on the machine, which supports MPEG4, 720p H.264 HD, 3GP and MP3.  Built-in apps include YouTube, Google Maps, Weather, Time, Calendar and an HTML browser, with downloadable apps via their own app storefront (free offerings during launch will include Twitter, Facebook and Mail).

The Scandinavia ships with a wireless keyboard and a mouse, although it will likely work with universal remotes as well.  Currently only on pre-order, pricing starts at 22,000 Swedish Krona (around $3,630) for the 42-inch model.  Yes, it is expensive, but it’s niche enough that websites will probably refrain from blocking it (unlike the Google TV).

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