I am thinking to buy one of these Android TV boxes as youtube app on my Sony Bravia TV stopped working and Sony is not releasing any software updates to fix this issue( will try to stay away from any sony TV in future). http://www.kingsouq.com/mxiii-g-tb0000009c.html http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...x-A17-XBMC-Play-Store/316073_32274996273.html http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_202595.html I do have a small concern. Their GUI seems a bit like Metro. Chineese gadgets are notorious for such thing. I personally always try my best to stay away from any clones/ rip offs as I give importance to intellectual property rights. Do you guys really think that their GUI is a clear Metro rip off? I searched on google the GUI of different smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp etc and it seems that on such a big screen there is no way to avoid Tiles etc. A bit metro type GUI seems the only real option on a TV screen. What do you guys think? I am not asking it from any legal point of view. I am asking it only from an ethical point of view. Thanks
Thirst thing don't buy anything from GearBest, I had nothing but only bad experience with them. Use GeekBuying or Aliexpress. I don't see anyhting wrong with the 'metro-ish' GUI; lot of android tv boxes are using it. If you don't like it buy a Windows 10 box like this one.
@aigle The MINIX NEO X8-H Plus seems to be a very good option, and I may end up buying one myself. http://minix.com.hk/en/products/neo-x8-h-plus http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_214471.html?currency=AUD I don't think the GUI you provided pictures of is a Metro rip off, although I can see some likeness. @PaulBB What happened with GearBest. I've never purchased from them, but have read good feedback about them, and they have a very high rating on Reseller Ratings. I agree with you about AliExpress, as long as you purchase from a seller with very high feedback. I've made around 120 purchases from suppliers on AliExpress with very few problems.
I got a Minix Neo X8-H Plus at the start of the month & have no complaints about it, nice & fast with Kodi & TheBlackBox build. You can always use another launcher with it. When you first power it up it gives you the choice of the stock android launcher or the Minix one but you can always install Nova or any other launcher you want. Not too much bloat on it & you can always remove apps you don't want like Skype.
@roger_m On January I put an order for a Windows USB Stick from Gearbest with 3-5 business days for dispatch. After two weeks the Windows USB Stick didn't arrived and started to communicate with them - Gearbest replied that the Windows USB Stick is not available but soon will be back in the warehouse and dispatched in the next few days. I Insisted on telling me what means 'soon' for them but never got a straight reply, just 'soon'. This happened in January, that ''soon'' turned to be all the February, March and April. In May I asked for refund and got my money back (100 USD) in one day. Similar stories you can find on Reddit and other places. https://www.reddit.com/r/gearbest/comments/3i2ci6/is_gearbest_legit/ https://www.reddit.com/r/gearbest/comments/3g6dyr/poor_communication_from_gearbest_cost_me_money/
@PaulBB That's a very bad experience. I had a similar experience with Pandawill recently, I ordered a phone which I was told via their online chat they had in stock. A few days later my order was still shown as processing. When I used their online chat again, they looked into my order and it turned out the phone wasn't in stock. But they refunded my money when I decided that I wanted to be refunded rather than choosing a different phone.
