IP878 Android TV Box – $40 AllWinner A10 mini PC?

I’ve been tipped off about a new Android mini PC called IP878 selling for less than $40 on a site called ahappydeal.com. This HDMI Stick is said to run Android 2.3, features an ARM CPU, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB flash and comes with a basic remote control.

There’s no mention of the exact processor on the website mentioned above, but I found what looks like the (a?) manufacturer website (NewMi), which describes IP878 features as follows:

• SoC – ALLWINNER TECH A10S
• RAM  – 512MB DDR2
• Storage –  2GB Flash + microSD card slot
• Video and Audio out – HDMI (high-resolution video output up to 720P ???)
• Video Containers – *.mkv,*.wmv,*.mpg, *.mpeg, *.dat, *.avi, *.mov, *.mp4 *.wmv, *.FLV, *.3GP
• Video Codecs – H.264, H.263,VP8,RV8/9,MPEG4,Xvid,Divx 3/4/5,MPEG1/2
• USB –  USB 2.0 Host & OTG
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g
• Power – 5V/1A
• Remote control – IR extender
• Weight – 25 g
• Dimensions – 9.2 x 3.2 x 1.5 cm

According to the manufacturer website IP878 is supposed to run Android 4.0, which seems normal for AllWinner A10 device, but there is also another device with the same casing called IP872 based on InfoTMIC iMAPX210 (ARM11) that runs Android 2.3, which makes me wary of the $38.5 announced on the site, as the cheapest A10 devices I’ve found cost just above $50, and some online sellers have (purposely) misleading titles and/or descriptions. The flash size also differs between the manufacturer website (2GB) and reseller(s) website (4GB), but it could be a mistake on the newmi website as they indicate that A10 can only output to 720p…

Having said that, this device sells on several other English and Chinese websites for 250 CNY (about 40 USD), and some show it’s based on AllWinner A10, so that must be true. I can’t find it on Aliexpress or Dealextreme yet.

The device sells with a user’s manual, a power supply cable and a remote control. No power supply is included. They said it’s not needed, even though my A10 based Smallart U-Host won’t boot without connecting 2 USB ports, or using an external power supply. Every system is different, so it’s possible they have better power management…

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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