Looks like Samsung is trying to break into the set-top box market, with their upcoming HomeSync Media Hub. The device is not a Google TV, however, it does run on an Android OS, so, yet another competition between iOS and Android is taking place, but this time, in an entirely new market.
So, which one should you choose? It’s tough to say, but the new Samsung device offers a TON of storage for any downloaded content you might have (1 TB to be exact) so if you’re a chronic downloader of movies and TV shows, then this is most likely the device you want to get your hands on.
It also features a 1.7GHz processor, which isn’t too bad. As far as the operating system, it runs on Android Jelly Bean to be exact. If you own a Samsung Galaxy, then you’ll also be able to steam HD video, at up to 1080p to this neat little gadget, again, another great feature.
What’s nice about this device, is that if you have a family, or other people living with you, such as roommates, then you can have your own TV shows and movies on the device, OR you can share it with other users, or even ALL the users on the device. The device can hold up to 8 different users, so even if you have a big household, you should be all set, and with a terabyte of storage, you can rest assured that there will definitely be enough room for everyone’s favorite content.
Set-top boxes are nice, because they are a cost-effective way to get a ton of great content. They allow people a relatively inexpensive way to be rid of their cable-company dependency. This is important to, because cable companies these days have slacked in their service, and generally don’t seem to care about their customers any longer (I guess it’s been that way for a while).
Right now, the main competitor in this space is Apple. Of course, you also have Roku, and Boxee competing in this space, but not really on the same level that Apple is. However, for people who aren’t really hooked into iOS, and the Apple device ecosystem, AppleTV isn’t a great option, because it’s primarily designed for those people… So, this new Android device from Samsung will give the Android people and others, a great option.
Google TV is of course, is another option, but hasn’t really caught up in terms of technology as the other companies have (too busy working on Google Glass maybe?).
Well, I’m pretty excited for this device, it’ll be nice to finally have something that can seriously store some real data. Something in the 1 Terabyte category is sorely needed when you’re dealing with mostly video, as opposed to generally smaller files you have on your desktop PC.
Hopefully this new Samsung device will be all it’s cracked up to be, and at a reasonable price. The device will be launched in April. I guess we’ll just find out then…