For the past few years, Jide Technology out of Beijing, China has taken Android and ran with it, first creating its Remix Ultratablet and then its Remix Mini. Both offered interesting Android experiences tailored to certain demands in the market, something that the company is continuing to do today with its currently funding Remix IO.
The Remix IO is a natural evolution in Jide’s mission of developing new Android experiences that solve problems in the market. With the IO, the television is the goal. As a combination 4K Android set-top box, gaming console and Android PC, users can enjoy the wide range of versatility it offers. As a set-top box, its Android TV mode can pump out 4K resolution at 60fps, which makes its bigger app icons, recommended Android apps and all types of visual media look that much prettier.
As they are working on a gaming console, Android games benefit from the Remix IO’s Gaming Toolkit, which allows gamers to custom map the most comfortable keyboard/mouse or game controller buttons to any game for better ways of playing. And as an Android PC, users benefit from keyboard/mouse optimizations and an interface designed with familiar PC touches like resizable windows and taskbars.
Together with the device’s octa-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD slot for up to 128GB of expandable storage, four USB 2.0 ports along with both a VGA and HDMI port, and the Remix IO is a very capable black box in a sea of black boxes. It starts at $99 and will ship March 2017 should its campaign raise $250,000 by November 19th, 2016.
The Remix IO looks like another success for Jide Technology. Its versatility is unmatched when compared to the heavyweights of the category in the Apple TV or the Roku. The uber-successful Chromecast, while cheap and pretty useful on its own, just doesn’t have the same utility as something like the Remix IO. Its ability to generate 4K resolution at 60fps is a huge deal for something this small and this cheap — and many people will likely agree.