We got this Olevia Box a few days before my trip to Europe so I wasn’t able to test it extensively until only recently. This companion box plugs into your HDTV to make it work like those expensive Smart TVs. Big difference is that this one runs on a customized Android platform.

The box looks pretty simple, made of plastic, a bit big (gives an impression there’s a 2.5″ HDD inside) and weighs 427 grams. The white and pale grey colors add to the simple yet elegant design. I just wish they could have make the box a bit smaller though.

We’ve tried a lot of those HD media players in the past couple of years (I have 4 or 5 of them around) but this one adds more interaction by allowing users access to Google Play and download thousands of apps and games. That’s on top of being able to play full HD 1080p videos via the HDMI output.

The Olevia Box runs on Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread but they managed to simplify the user-interface of the box. The interface does not look like Gingerbread at all and resembles a media-player style of presentation with the main section stack like a carousel.

Source: YugaTech | Philippines, Tech Reviews Blog