New Roku Device Smallest Yet!
Yep, the new Roku I told you about before Christmas last year is small, just a bit over 3 inchs by 3 inchs by 3/4 inch…. BUT, the new Roku device that will be coming out sometime this year will be as small as a USB stick! Check it out!
Roku media player shrinks again — to an HDMI dongle
“Roku announced a tiny dongle version of its Linux-based streaming player device, designed to plug directly into a TV’s HDMI port. Due to ship in the fall, the ‘Roku Streaming Stick’ will send its signals to — and accept power from — Mobile High Definition Link-enabled televisions, including some of Best Buy’s Insignia models.
Only six months after shrinking its Linux-based Roku media player boxes to 3.3 x 3.3 x 0.9 inches with the Roku 2, Roku has cranked up its miniaturization machine again to produce an even smaller, simpler model.
Although Roku does not list the dimensions for the Roku Streaming Stick, it is said to be the size of a USB flash drive. Instead of being built around a USB port, however, it offers an HDMI port that plugs directly into its counterpart on an HDTV, says Roku.
According to the MHL Consortium, MHL features a single HDMI cable with a five-pin interface, supporting 1080p HD video and digital audio transport while simultaneously powering mobile devices. The technology potentially ‘enables the TV remote to control … [a] mobile phone and access its contents.’
MHL has been ‘adopted’ by nearly 100 hardware and manufacturing vendors, according to Roku. These are said to include the MHL Consortium’s joint founders: Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony, and Toshiba. MHL is already supported by over a dozen devices, primarily Android smartphones, including the HTC Rezound, according to a list posted on Wikipedia.
However, it might be easier finding an MHL-enabled smartphone than an MHL-ready TV. The possibly dated Wikipedia story says that only the Toshiba Regza WL800A LED TV and Samsung’s UN55D8000YF and UN55D6300SF LED TV range are currently shipping with the technology.
Some of Best Buy’s Insignia brand TVs, however, will be available with MHL by the time the Roku Streaming Stick ships this fall, says Roku. The Roku device will be offered with the Insignia TVs, presumably as an extra-cost option.”