Xiaomi unveils Mi Box Mini, a cutsy 1080p streamer to take on Chromecast
Xiaomi is ploughing full steam ahead today, releasing the world's most decked-out phablets for their respective price range, and also an audiophile-grade set of headphones on the cheap again. What really caught our attention, however, is another device unveiled today, the Xiaomi Mi Box mini IP STB streamer.
It is the world's smallest device of this kind, designed as a small cube that you can plug directly in the outlet, and can even carry in your pocket while on the go. Make no mistakes, the impossibly small set-top box, which is about the size of a cellphone charger, still packs an Cortex-A7 quad-core 1.3GHz MTK8685A, 1 GB RAM, 4GB Flash storage, Dolby, DTS audio, and dual band Wi-Fi 802.11n, in addition to low-power Bluetooth 4.0.
Why Bluetooth, you'd ask? Well, the Mi Box mini comes with its own Bluetooth remote control unit, which on top of that can control other Bluetooth gear lying around the house, like speakers and the like. The tiny cube has an HDMI-out port and a cable in the box to make use of it. BEst of all, it supports the next-gen h.265 streaming container, for up to 50% streaming bandwidth reduction, ensuring flawless 1080p streaming.
It is not a 4K streamer like its big brother the Xiaomi Mi Box, but, hey, for a $32 price tag one can't expect much more from this portable set-top box, plus it comes with a foldable wall plug, and in a variety of candy colors to suit every taste. You can preorder the Mi Box mini starting next Tuesday, January 20th, and orders will commence shipping a week after, on January 27th, for the utter displeasement of Google's Chromecast dongle.
source: Xiaomi
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