Android set top boxes tip up in Vegas

AN OUTFIT we've vaguely heard of before, MIPS Technologies made a number of announcements today in the runup to CES, all pitched at making Android the choice for digital home entertainment systems.

Relatively speaking Google's Android operating system is still in its infancy, but is seen by many as a natural winner in the area. MIPS does not want to wait around and will use this week's CES festivities to show off a number of set-top boxes running the OS.

"MIPS is the number one architecture for the digital home, and our optimisations of the Android platform are critical for enabling our customers to deliver the next generation of products for the connected digital home and beyond," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing for MIPS Technologies. "Together with our partners, we've made great progress in optimising Android for a broad range of consumer devices. We've delivered a full HD experience to Android, and now we're delivering multi-channel audio and enhanced user interfaces required for digital home devices. We anticipate seeing the first Android-based devices in our living rooms in 2010."

On show at the event will be a set-top box from Western Mediabridge that offers 1080p quality HD video-on-demand, as well as Thinkfree Office, a web browser. "Our Android-based STB is one of the most innovative STB solutions in the market. We anticipate there will be a lot of Android-based products and applications in the near future which will be connected to each other. Our belief is that the Android set-top box will be positioned as a main device among in-home Android-based multimedia devices. We will continue to add more applications, making a more feature-rich Android set-top box," said Ernest Bang, president and chief exec at Western Mediabridge.

Also drawing people away from slot machines at CES will be the Lemote YeeLoong9089 netbook computer, which hopefully will see a name change somewhere along the line, and ConnecTV, software developed with Home Jinni, that promises to bring social media to home users.

Home Jinni's top dog, Shidan Gouran, said, "What we are showcasing with MIPS at CES is more than the new home entertainment hub; at its core, ConnecTV is a flexible and open application framework that completes Android as the operating system most suitable for the home." µ