As the Nexus 4 reaches its mid life and the rumor mill is churning out its guesses at the next iteration of the device, i thought now would be a good time too reflect on my purchase. Re visit my thoughts of the device pre purchase what i think now and what i`m hoping for in the next device.

Before i started writing i went back and re read my posts regarding the N4 pre release on Google +, i was quite vocal in the threads regarding the hot topics, LTE, removable battery and expandable storage. I even wrote an article (rant?) on here and a had a rebuttle posted by Michael Grasser (that will never be mentioned in our house :-p).

So after 6 months am i eating my words have all the detractors been proved right?

Lets look at the issues individually

LTE;

When defending/arguing the lack of LTE on the N4 i was always looking at the device firstly for my own needs and secondly on an international level, I stand by what i said for me in my country. 4G/LTE is still a novelty unattainable for anyone bar EE customers (and still at exhobarant pricing and limited availability), even when the next Nexus releases im not sure LTE will be widely available in the UK. Three (which is my network) has even announced that there will be no additional charge when 4G/LTE is available on their network, if the next Nexus supports LTE all well and good but i would not sacrifice the battery for it and it would not put me off purchasing the next gen if it lacks it. Maybe it is because ive never used 4G, maybe people are right if i ever did try it i would never be able to go back to 3G. Who knows but as of now im happy with 3G and 4G would be a bonus but not a necessity

Expandable storage. This one is an easy one for me, I am balls deep in Google i embrace every new release and utilize all their online storage facilities  I had a panic attack the other day due to a post on G+ regarding peoples reliance on cloud storage. It brought home to me how much reliance and trust i am placing in Google, what would happen if (god forbid) my Google account was suspended. When the dust settled i realized i had made the choice, i was trusting a company that is good at what it does, more than that i believe in Google as a company and until they change my mind i will stop panicking and enjoy the service and more relevant to this article not worry about expandable storage. I never maxed out my S2, Gnex or the N4, i begrudge having photos physically on my device and periodically empty them, i also have no music physically on my device, this frees up space for stuff like games. For some people the lack of expandable storage on their mobile device is a deal breaker, to them i say stop bitching and choose one of the many competent devices out there that do, for me it works and im happy. (I have unlimited data)

Battery. This one is a little trickier, i cannot say in good conscience that the battery on the N4 is anything to write home about, but in the same vein it isn’t dire either. A smart phone is a power hungry little fellow and unfortunately battery technology does not seem to follow the same upward trend as mobile phone technology. So two choices are left increase the physical size of the battery and therefore increasing the size of the phone (Note 2) or restrict the performance of the phone. Now as i said the N4 is not the best battery but i don’t think the balance is too bad, i personally have a car charger and a home charger and i am yet to be faced with a flat phone. In summary it would be nice to have a longer lasting battery but i think the same could be said for any smart phone.

Another hot topic surrounding the N4 was the balance between cost and build quality/performance. Now i think anyone who has played with the N4 would have to agree no compromise was made on performance, it flew when it was new and it flies now (I am stock rooted with Buzz as my launcher). Now build quality is another issue, i have read endless posts in various communities etc regarding issues with the N4, niggling build quality issues whether it be the proximity sensor, the annoying sim card tray rattle, BT issues, WI-FI , issues, camera issues, sliding issues, glass issues i could go on forever with the complaints ive read.

I think a nexus phone is a standard bearer for the Android community and embraced by the tech savvy, therefore by default is going to be put under the microscope by people who have a greater understanding about their purchase and are passionate. I personally have only experienced the BT issue rarely and the proximity sensor now and again. As Christopher Rizzo said in a debate regarding the N4, no matter what the cost of the device some things should just work, the proximity sensor falls into that category and is super annoying when it happens.

Another hot topic is the sliding issue which ties into the glass issue, many a post i have read about the N4 sliding off a -not quite flat surface -and the back glass breaking. I concur the N4 is very slippery, ive said as much on here, but the delicacy of the N4 has raised a question for me. Ive had a few smart phones and treated them as a tool, taken care of but used and sometimes a little carelessly, my Gnex and S2 had various bumps dents and scrapes (but luckily never a broken screen) six months on and my N4 is as it was when it left its box, i am verging on OCD regarding how careful i am am with the device, i am not prepared to find out if the back is a delicate as everyone (who is unfortunate to have broke one) says. So this is my question to myself, has the fear of dropping it ruined the experience or am i just showing an expensive piece of tech the respect it deserves. I am leaning towards the latter, i have a case on for work and when i get home and take the case off i still after 6 months love it, “it feels so good in the hand” (That ones for you Shaun Nicholson)

So what does the future hold for the next Nexus? Sunder Pichai in a recent interview with wired.com touched on the fact that this years IO will focus more on Devs and software than hardware, so don’t expect any ground breaking news regarding the N4 or should we (princess bride style?) There’s plenty of speculation out there but no one really knows, we can only guess and dream. In a fantasy world my next Nexus would be either the Oppo find 5 or the HTC One, they at the moment are my favorite devices (phone porn). This again raises another question, I love both those devices but if Google put out their next Nexus at similar  build quality and spec would i be prepared to stump up the extra cash? As i have  said before i think Google got the balance of build quality, specs and price spot on with the N 4, its not perfect but for the price its as close as you will get.

Unless Google do something dire i will get the next Gen and until then i am more then happy with the LG offering of the Nexus device and wouldn’t be worried if the next Nexus is an LG.

Launchers are numerous and common place on the play store, From the old guard of ADW, Nova and Apex to the newer offerings of SF launcher, Next and QM launcher.

With so many launchers available offering such differing experiences is there room for another one?

Home pack buzz team seem to think so and after having a play around i whole heartedly agree.

Buzz launcher has a unique trick up its sleeve which i will come to later but first lets look at the launcher on its own merits.

Straight away upon finding the app on the play store i`m already pleasantly surprised at the fresh well designed look, Yes i mean the presentation on the play store, Before even downloading the app you can tell the Home pack team has an eye for design and color representation.

So to the launcher, as a new user you are met with useful help and tips at every stage of creating your personalized screens, which for new comers will be very useful.

As I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time theming my device i was straight in there without needing the helps and tips, But I would confidently recommend this to someone wanting to start theming their device without much prior knowledge, I talked a friend into trying it out, A friend with little experience and guess what the next day he showed me what he had done…… I was impressed it is really easy to pick up and run with.

The launcher has a slew of options for creating your master piece

Extract from play store;

MULTI-WALLPAPER SCREEN: You can select different wallpaper images from your gallery for each screen
￭ MY ICON: an icon editing tool is provided so you can edit and resize icons on your own. Transparent icons are also supported (Theme icon pack is to be supported)
￭ MULTI-GRID: you can designate different grids for each screen (up to 12×12)
￭ MANAGE FOLDERS: you can make folders in app drawers/Homescreen, modify folder image, and resize folders
￭ MANAGE APPS: features for viewing most frequently used apps, recently installed apps, and hiding apps
￭ MANAGE APP DRAWERS: Screen concept is applied to app drawers so you can manage apps by screens
￭ GESTURE SUPPORT: Glide up, Glide down, Double tab and more.
￭ Previewing is supported for various view settings

A feature i missed was being able to use bought icon packs i have quite few so its nice to know that it is a feature that is high on the list for implementation by the Devs.

Remember i said they have an ace up their sleeves, well the Home pack team have a community for home screens, when you download the app you can also sign up to Home pack Buzz service, this basically allows you to upload your home screen for others to rate and down load and also allows you to down load other peoples Home screens.

This is ideal for people new to theming and allows you to have an awesome looking individual home screen with very little effort or know how, Once you have the look you require it is quite simple to tweak to your hearts content. There is a lot of home screens on there and im sure you will find something to suit most tastes.

I should mention how easy it is to download a home screen, you simply go onto the Buzz community which is a one touch button within the app scroll through the categories, find the home screen you like and down load, the app will set your home screen just like you viewed it from the community, it installs the apps and widgets (greyed out at first) you simply touch the app/widget it takes you to the play store and you download the app or widget (or not if you want to install an alternative)

I have also used UCCW widgets within Buzz launcher to good effect.

Besides looking pretty a launcher has to be functional, after using it for a week i haven’t noticed any excess battery drain and my N4 is as quick and slick as ever.

The App and community are still in their infancy but with more contributors it will only get better, i have spoke to the Devs and they are genuinely nice people and happy to help or answer questions.

Home screens are a chance for people to show off their artistic skills and you just have to look around the communities and pages on Google + to see how much time and effort people put into them, The Buzz team have a great idea here this easily opens up Home screen customization to the every day Android user and gives people more proficient in it somewhere to share and show off.

One issue i have is that after selecting English as the language the news page still shows as another language, from my few dealings with the team i`m sure they will look into it forfwith.

I genuinely hope this takes off for the Buzz team and will be flaunting my ever changing Home screens on Google+ I would say definitely give it a go its free and still in beta so be one of the first and if you like it share and promote.

Buzz has a community page on Google + Home pack buzz designers which is an invite only community

Get the app here Buzz Launcher Beta

And you will want to pick up the Buzz custom widget beta also

And you can circle the key contributors on Google +

+Catherine H Chang

+Jinny Sung

+Ko Hyunjoo

+Stella Park

As the internet pushes more and more into our everyday lives large and small companies are looking at ways to push that consumption into our living room and onto our big screen, TV manufacturers are making smart TVs, Smaller companies are offering Mini PC T.Vs  I fully embrace the idea but the price of the large smart TVs are beyond me and the mini T.V. P.C. just didn’t fully deliver, Miracast is looming but not quite here, but there is an option if you are already lucky enough to own a Nexus 4. Step up Slim port, I know this is not something new for the Android Elite, its been out a while but with a bit of tinkering and the use of items you may already have lying around you can have the smart T.V. experience at a fraction of the cost, firstly we need to cover what the Slim port is what it does and the cost. I bought mine from Amazon UK for around £23, The slim port basically connects to your HD TV via a HDMI cable (not supplied) and then to your phone via its mini USB port. And that’s it whatever is displayed on your phone will be displayed onto your TV screen in H.D., There is another port on the Slim port to connect a charger which is needed if you’re planning on consuming media for any length of time.

Now this is all well and good but to be honest if you’re like me you don’t want to drag your carcass of the settee to the phone to read a message move onto the next you tube video e.t.c. Luckily the solution to this is simply connecting a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to your phone, the beauty of the Slim port is that whatever appears on your mobile screen appears on your big screen in full H.D.one of my gripes with the mini PC was some apps were incompatible. Apps auto rotate to landscape and its wired so there is no lag.

So now we have our media content on our big screen what else…. oh yes those high end graphically intense games languishing on your small mobile screen, for this step up Six axis controller and a P.S.3 game pad, as i said before the Slim port mirrors whatever is on your mobile screen including games, but what is the point if you have to keep looking at your phone for the controls, What six axis controller does is uses a third party blue tooth capable device as a native controller it basically re assigns the default Bluetooth id of your phone and pairs it with the controller, this works perfectly for games like Dead trigger and Shadow gun that support native controllers but for the ones that don’t Six axis has another neat trick, you can take physical buttons etc on your control pad and assign them to the touch controls on screen.

Now for this to work you do need to root your phone and should only do this after full research and feel comfortable doing it, once rooted the Six axis part is quite straight forward. I will say some games need the settings changing i.e. some racing games when set to use the gyroscope for steering auto rotate the screen assuming you are rotating your phone to steer, As you can imagine this looks a little funky on your big screen.

The down side to all this is that the Slim port is only compatible with the Nexus 4

Check out some of the videos below to see the items in the article in action

Slim port at CES

Six axis controller

For most people on Android one of the first things you do on your device is install your favorite keyboard, I know i did and my keyboard of choice was Swype,  A few people go for this thing called…….. “swift key flow keyboard”? ……..I know, it may be a stretch to get people away from that excellent keyboard.

Since 4.2 the stock keyboard has had a bit of an overhaul and is definitely worth a look, one of the main features is the addition of gesture Swype and another less well known features is native Emoji, These are excellent if like me sometimes the written word is not enough to express emotion, like happy, sad…….Umbrella? anyhow there’s a lot to choose from.

Turning the Emoji on doesn’t jump out of the keyboard at you and to activate you will have to delve deep into the settings , fortunately this is where i come in so read on.

1. Go into settings

2. Select language and input

3. Press settings on Android keyboard

4.Scroll to add on dictionaries and install Emoji

5. Back up and Emoji keyboard should now be an option below the default English option and voice typing.

6. Tick iWnn IME, this keyboard works alongside the English keyboard not a replacement, English should be your default, you should be done in the settings now so back all the way out.

7. Pull up your keyboard and long press space bar, you will now be offered Emoji input as an option simply hit that option, you can always at any time when in the Emoji keyboard press cancel to return to the standard keyboard.

8. Let your emotions flow like a river onto the page in pictorial format.

See the slide show below selected screen shots to aid the activation and enjoy Emoji.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

If you’re looking for a small portable wireless speaker system to compliment you’re phone the Jam HDMX is worth a look,

The packaging initially caught my eye, a JAM jar style package with a metal screw off lid houses the device, once the lid is unscrewed there are a couple of instructions pamphlets (Not needed will come back to that) a USB to mini USB and an auxiliary cable, both are very short but the speaker will charge from the standard mini USB charger found with Nexus, Samsung and many other phone manufacturers.

Below that is the speaker itself, This supports Bluetooth and AUX connectivity, the packaging states 4 hours playback via Bluetooth and 12 hours via cable,

It has a a little on off switch on the bottom and was fully charged out of the JAR,

When you switch it on it makes a little sound to confirm and the Bluetooth symbol on the side flashes to indicate it is ready for connection, My phone picked it up straight away and after the obligatory pass code i was ready to go, This really is plug and play out of the JAR.

The speaker has physical controls for play, pause volume up and down and a battery indicator which flashes red when the device is low on battery.

The speaker also can also be operated through the normal controls of whichever media player you are running.

I really like the design it is simple and effective, and for the price feels just the right side of quality to serve its purpose for a long time to come.

The bottom has a type of rubber that is very grippy, I placed it on my dash whilst driving and had no sliding issues.

The sound that comes out is very good for its size and delivers clean crisp sound reproduction with no distortion, and again for its size the little JAM packs quite a punch in the volume department, if you’re worried about the sound quality or volume connect you’re phone in the shop and give it a test run, i did this on full volume which resulted in my daughter scurrying away with embarresment

The Jam HDMX retails for £24.99 in the UK and is sold at most high street electronics shops.

Nexus 4 review
After a lot of excitement and waiting for the Play store to be re stocked i bit the bullet and got myself a nexus 4 at the inflated price from a high street retailer, I previously had the Galaxy Nexus and i am a lover of the stock experience so it will be hard for me to be unbiased when writing this review but here goes.
I find the Nexus 4 in many ways a double edged sword, For allot of the great features there seems to be a negative.

With the power off from the front you are basically looking at a Galaxy nexus Google and LG have stuck to the plain black slab look from the front which i liked in the Galaxy nexus and it works for me here, there are slight differences but these are hugely important,

The glass is slightly curved and seamlessly meets a dull metallic frame, I have read allot about this curved glass and always thought “surely it cant make that much of a difference” as the reviewer gushed, Well it does, the build quality visually is only surpassed by how it feels in the hand, you have to get this device in your hand to appreciate it.
The metallic framing meets a rubberized surround which is matte finish in keeping with the dark subdued feel of the device, in my opinion this is the only part of the device that does not feel top end quality, It is however a necessity this device is one slippery SOB, this brings me to another point the front screen is smooth, now when i say smooth i mean really smooth i don’t know how Google did it but the screen is a lot smoother than my old Galaxy nexus, This makes it  lovely to hold and use but i have also experienced first hand the dreaded slide that people have been reporting, Sat watching the TV with Nexus 4 on my lap i caught out of the corner of my eye the phone ever so slightly millimeter by millimeter sliding of my lap, it was weird to see, it was so slow i couldn’t feel it and watched in wonder how it was keeping its momentum, but sure enough it kept going and slid off my lap, again this phone is one slippery SOB, get a case or be very careful.

The rubberized surround meets the Nexus 4 back which is also glass, this glass is different to the front and not as slippy but does continue the smooth quality feel of the device, Underneath the glass back is the Nexus 4 bling, a shimmering glittering inlay, if you are worried about this bling looking cheap or showy don’t  95 percent of the time it is invisible and the back is black but if you angle the phone just right i.e. to show a friend, it shimmers and to be honest is quite impressive.

The phone runs a theme of seamless quality throughout, gone is the jutting out camera of the previous nexus and replaced with an inset camera the volume rocker on the left and the power button on the right only just protrude the phone.
If you have the previous Nexus you could be forgiven for wondering why you would trade up Google has kept the form factor from the front very similar to the Galaxy, you have to get this phone in your hand to appreciate it and not in the store with the security wires hanging from it, have it in your hand for a day and you will appreciate the leap this is from the previous version and how much attention to detail has gone in to this handset.
Screen
The screen is a LCD IPS true HD screen sporting 1280 x 680 pixels with 320 ppi Google by using LG have stepped away from the super AMOLED screen which results in a more subdued viewing experience that some are calling washed out, I personally had the Galaxy nexus before this device and Galaxy S2 before that so was very used to the vibrant super AMOLED, Do i miss the punch? I can honestly say i don’t  If i`m honest i would go as far as to say if i went back to super AMOLED it would seem garish, the Nexus 4 screen is crisp and clear and gives a truer representation of colors  zoom in on text to the max and it remains crystal clear with no pix-elation

For those who are rooted and really want to get the best out of the screen Francisco Franco has an app for sale in the play store (£1.63) that can tweek the colors of the Nexus 4 and judging by the reviews the results are good

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexus4displaycontrol&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5uZXh1czRkaXNwbGF5Y29udHJvbCJd

Speed/UI
The Nexus 4 steps up to a Qualcam snapdragon S4 pro 1.5 ghz quad core processor and 2 gig of ram which results in a snappy smooth UI, try out a heavy app like currents and the experience remains quick and smooth, If games are your thing on a phone they look and play faultlessly  for anyone who cares about benchmarks i bench marked mine and it came out at 2051 on the Geekbench which is comparative to other top end phones on the market

Price
The price is £279 for the 16 gig and £239 for the 8 gig UK , As stated everywhere on the internet it is easier to get hold of rocking horse shit than the Nexus 4 on play store i got mine for £389 from Car phone Warehouse in the UK.
The price is unbelievable on the play store, This is a quality device sporting high end specs which from any other manufacturer would command a higher price point, but this comes at a cost, no LTE, no removable battery and no expandable storage, this for some is a deal breaker and divides the tech community and the Nexus fans,

I fully understand if you have have the availability of LTE and have got used to super fast speeds on the go or are locked into a contract with say Verizon, Not having it excludes the Nexus 4 as a device, as with the lack of expandable storage. I personally live in the UK 4g is not widely available and the carriers contracts for it are expensive, also i am a big advocate of cloud storage, i never maxed out storage on my Galaxy nexus and there’s no reason i will max out this device, i don’t really play games on my phone so again this is only a deal breaker for certain people.
Battery
The N4 sports a 2100 mAh battery, specs give a 15 hr talk time and a 390 hrs standby time, if i`m honest i have only had the device a week and i`m still on my holidays so never far from a power point therefore cant give a true reflection of battery life, At work is when i`m away from a power source for the longest amount of time and for me if the phone will go 12 hrs on moderate use (which my Gnex did) i will be happy, So far i have had no issues with the battery life, but don’t expect beastly battery stats like the Note 2.
Emerging Accessories:

The N4 has some neat tricks built in NFC, wireless charging and Miricast, Accessories are just as hard to get hold of as the device but i am excited for the releases this will keep the device fresh for me, i cant wait for a wireless charger for the desktop and the car and i am checking the internet nearly daily for a Miricast compatible dongle, this basically mirrors your device through your wi-fi onto your TV in full HD.
Summary
As i said at the start of this review the N4 is a double edged device which is apparent in a pros and cons summary as below.
Pros;

Price – How did they get so much into the device for the price

Device build – With the glass back and the super smooth curved front this device feels quality

Screen – The LCD display is crystal clear and text appears crisp even at full zoom

Cons;

Price – At this price sacrifices had to be made removable battery, expandable storage, LTE which may put this device off peoples wish list

Device build – The device feels quality but it also makes this device very slippery, this quality feel may not extend to a drop on the floor

Screen – The LCD can seem washed out compared to super AMOLED people who love the Samsung screen may not love this

Would i recommend this device YES is it a justifiable successor to the previous nexus YES is it the best phone out there on the market NO (for the price maybe) but then again any phone is only the best for at most a month after release, In this device you get a pure vanilla android experience at a reasonable price point with killer specs and very good build quality what are you waiting for go get one…..Oh probably waiting for the Playstore to get them in stock .

There a quite a few options in the Play Store for photo editing and after seeing a few posts on Google+ i felt i had to give Snapseed a go.

After having it on my device for a couple of weeks i am very impressed, firstly with the simple user interface and secondly with the great results this simple user interface allows.

Simply open up Snapseed  and you are given on screen instructions on the gesture swipes used to increase or decrease the effect you are applying, along the top are four options, Save, upload to G+, add photo or take photo and another options tab that opens sharing to more places, (including send to BBC news?) Show overlay, online help and info about Snapseed.

I found the UI simple and took no time to figure it out by no more than trial and error.

Within each option of which there are Automatic, Selective adjust, Tune image, Straighten, Crop, Details, Black and white, Vintage, Drama, Grunge (my favourite), Center focus, Frames and Tilt shift you hold your finger onto the picture this brings up further option for each individual tile, yes there are allot of options but go as far into them as required. You can also swipe up to see the original photo for a direct comparison against the changes you have made as below

Here is one i took from my local area before and after

This one is of our Wedding day in Ibiza, for this one i cropped out the annoying family members ran it through the grunge filter and added a frame, the Wife was so impressed she printed onto A4 photo paper and now it sits in the living room.

As i said before there are many options out there for photo editing the latest iteration of Jellybean has a few, but for a free app with so many options and such great results from a really nice and simple UI i think you would be hard pressed to find much better, I am no artist and the only camera we have in  our house is the one on my phone and even i can get what i think are nice results, hit the play store and give it a go and download it from the Play Store

WARNING – RANT

So the #verge score the nexus 4 8.3. in their review,WTF .3 lower than their score for the previous iteration of the nexus and .5 less than the Iphone 5….REALLY? Google release a high end smartphone with specs directly competing with the £600 + phones,But they somehow manage to release it at a mid range price.

A quick google search shows the the UK price of the Iphone 5 sim free unlocked as around £750! That is £510 more than the Nexus 4, sure the Iphone 5 has superior build quality but £510 better build quality? I think not surely when writing a review of a phone value for money must have a large effect on the scoring,
Also another annoying thing is the obsession with LTE,
Sure for the American market who are actually on Verizon this is a big deal, But on a global scale the overall percentage of smartphone users that are A. American and B. on Verizon must be small,
Correct me if i’m wrong but the Nexus 4 is a global release,
For example in the UK (Which BTW isn’t a third world country when it comes to technology) We won’t realistically have a workable affordable 4g network until at least 2014 a new Nexus will have been released by then.
For me Google are releasing a phone that sends out a message positive for consumer but negative for other manufacturers and carriers.
They are releasing a phone that says to the consumer “Look what you can really get for this amount of money”
To the carriers “Stop monopolising the pricing and bullying the phone market into having out of date OS”
I personally hope the Nexus phone sells well, it will open a new era of value for money in the smartphone market and force manufacturers and carriers to hold up a mirror to their pricing and contracts.
This is a good for the consumer whether you choose a the new Nexus or not.
I personally will be getting the next Nexus partly because i am an Android fanboy but mainly the price…..the price its a no brainer.
Good for you Google live long and prosper.

With allot of devices on the verge of receiving the Jelly Bean goodness I thought it would be an opportune time to share a neat little trick Google have put into there eco system that I find very useful,

Anyone familiar will Google will undoubtedly be familiar with their excellent maps and calenders, In jelly bean they have taken the eco system integration/syncing to the next level.

For example if you have an important meeting or event simply drop it into you’re calender

with a time, location and anymore information you require, Jellybean’s Google now will hit you with a card on the specified date taking into account the time needed to reach the destination on time and offer a tab to open the directions applications to get you there, Simply hit the navigate icon and away you go.

But wait it goes further than that, if someone say from work E mails you an appointment to you’re Gmail account and includes location and time the same principal applies.

Not everyone will find a use for this but if like me you travel allot and have to keep allot of appointments it can be very useful, and the best thing about it, its all free, you’ve just gotta love Google

There are many ways to stream media to you’re TV but the MK802 Mini PC for Android 4.0 bundled with a fly remote seemed cheap enough to give it a go (I paid 78 USD on E bay but there are many variations at differing prices).

Out of the box you get.

• M.K.802 Mini PC for Android 4.0
• Two pin plug for power (With European adapter)
• H.D.M.I to mini HDMI
• U.S.B to mini USB cable
• U.S.B to mini USB adapter

For the remote you get

• Air mouse + Keyboard 2.4 G (no batteries)

The Mini PC came with a nice glossy instruction manual explaining with broken English and good pictures how to set up, But to be honest this item is plug and play anyone with a little technical know how shouldn’t need to consult the instructions.

The fly Remote comes with a little blue tooth receiver that lives nicely inside the remote this is simply removed from the remote and inserted into the Mini PC for blue tooth control.

Software

The mini PC comes with ICS 4.0.4 and various apps.

As well as the standard apps you’d expect from an android OS there is also Angry birds space and some Chinese streaming apps not sure what they are You sign in using youre google account details so any previous purchases are available via the Play store.

User interface

The user interface is good if a little fiddly at times, the fly remote works similar to a WII remote as in point and press, with a full qwerty keyboard i didn’t have any issues with maintaining connection via blue tooth

Display

The display comes through in 1080p HD in the form of a tablet view and is very clear and crisp without any distortion, The pictures from my Galaxy nexus don’t do it justice ( I was running on a Panasonic Viera 42 inch)

The few TV streaming apps i tried worked well TV catchup and you tube

Games display very well although the fly remote is far too fiddly to have any meaningful gaming experience, six axis controller may be my first install for the gaming.

The down side is this item does not support Netflix or HULA or BBC i player, However doing a bit of research this may be possible if you are happy to flash ROMS and side load things, there are forums out there with some good information.

Pros

• Small inconspicuous device for the living room
• Easy plug and play set up
• Very crisp and clear display akin to a 42 inch Tablet
• Reasonable price
• Supports external SD card up to 32 gig
• Seemingly good build quality however unsure of the longevity
• Could be a great all round media streaming gaming device with little rooting/Tinkering

Cons

• No Netflix HULA BBC iplayer support
• Some of the widgets don’t display as you expect on a tablet or phone
• Could be much better with a little rooting/tinkering but not all people are comfortable with that.

Summary

For the price this is a good piece of Techy equipment however i feel it may become a novelty item unless you’re prepared to tinker it to you’re specific needs, with the upcoming release of OUYA and various other more expensive media streaming items out there this could be a cheap alternative if you have a bit of technical know how, for me this item would be ideal if the ROM supported more media streaming outlets and pre installed with six axis controller for the gaming.