Asianet Satellite Communications has recently announced a smart dongle with the device running Android TV 9 Pie and supporting 1080p HD resolution video along with high dynamic range (HDR). The company engaged in digital cable TV and broadband services said on Twitter that the viewers can watch YouTube, Hotstar and Amazon Prime through the smart dongle. The remote for the smart dongle features a dedicated button for Google Assistant and YouTube. The company in 2019 released its Android powered hybrid set-top box (STB) with support for 4K Ultra HD. With the release of its smart dongle, the company has a similar product portfolio as the majority of the DTH operators.
Asianet Smart Dongle: Specifications and Features
According to the data from Asianet, the smart dongle is powered by the Amlogic S805Y platform with quad core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU clocked at 1.2 Ghz and penta core ARM Mali-450 GPU.
Further, the smart dongle features 1GB of RAM and 8GB flash storage with support for 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2.
With the device being powered by Android TV, features like Chromecast are also built-in which lets users cast their photos, videos or music from their device to TV. The Google Assistant lets users discover more content and get updates using their voice.
The device could also be updated to Android 10 in the upcoming months as TelecomTalk has spotted Android 10 tags on its website.
Asianet Smart Dongle: Price and Availability
The smart dongle has been priced at Rs 3999, however, the company is currently providing the device for an offer price of Rs 2,999 exclusive of GST. The company notes that the device attracts an 18% GST with the total price of the smart dongle post GST would be just over Rs 3,500.
While Asianet has launched the device, the COVID-19 lockdown could delay its availability to common users as the company has not made a note of the shipping period.
It has to be noted that TelecomTalk in March reported that Asianet could join a host of Cable TV operators in launching smart dongle and Android powered STBs. Den Network, 7 Star Digital, Kerala Vision and GTPL Hathway are some of the other operators who could launch an Android device in the upcoming months.
Already, DTH operators like Airtel Digital TV, Tata Sky, Dish TV and D2h are offering Android TV-based Set-Top Boxes to the customers at reasonable prices starting at Rs 2,249 for existing users and going all the way up to Rs 5,999 for new customers. More Cable TV operators will join the list this year.
