Sweden's People of Lava Soups Up a 42-inch TV With Android

by Sam Dean - Apr. 06, 2010Comments (0)

We've written before about efforts from MIPS to bring Google's Android operating system to entertainment, portable multimedia, and communications devices, but a Swedish company called People of Lava has what appears to be one of the most interesting early televisions based on the OS. The interactive Internet TV is dubbed Scandinavia, and it's designed to marry smartphone functionality to Internet and TV features. It's billed as a full HD TV, and users can download applications for it.

Starting this fall, 42-inch Scandinavia sets are slated to arrive, followed by 47-inch and 55-inch models. According to the specifications, Scandinavia offers a full HD 1920 x 1080-pixel display and several types of embedded media players. It runs Android 1.5 (the Cupcake version) and upgrades will be delivered over the Internet. There are also applications, including YouTube, Google Maps, and an Internet browser, and there will be an App Store with downloadable applications.

According to TechNewsWorld, the 42-inch version will be priced between 2,000 euros ($2,693) and 2,500 euros ($3,366), which makes the sets fairly expensive. MIPS has its own distribution of Android that it is positioning for use in TVs and other home entertainment devices. Initially, though, Scandinavia sets are likely to compete most closely with Yahoo Connected TVs and sets running media center platforms such as Boxee's.

Scandinavia appears to be more evidence that Android will head well beyond smartphones, and it has already shown up in netbooks, tablets and more. You can find many photos of it, such as the one below, here: