Looking for an Android TV stick that you can plug right into your television’s HDMI port to run Android apps, but want a model with an Ethernet port? Up until now you’ve been out of luck — the only options have involved larger set-too-boxes with room for full-sized Ethernet jacks.
But manufacturer GOsinGO has introduced a new model called the GSG-TB06 which is designed to plug right into your TV, fit in the palm of your hand, and connect to the internet over WiFi or Ethernet.
The full-sized Ethernet jack is probably the most impressive feature of this little device, although another thing that helps set it apart from the crowd is that you can use either the HDMI connector or AV cables to connect the stick to your TV.
The rest of the specs are pretty underwhelming, including:
- 1 GHz Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 single core processor
- Mali 400 graphics
- 1GB of RAM
- 4GB to 32GB of flash storage + microSD card slot
- HDMI and AV output
- 1 USB 2.0 port
- 1 micro USB port
- Connectivity – Ethernet (RJ45) + Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (AR6103)
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Dimensions – 105 × 37 × 15.6 mm
While the Allwinner A10 chip is starting to look kind of dated, one nice thing about it is that it should be pretty easy to load Ubuntu or other Linux-based operating systems on the GSG-TB06 by preparing a special microSD card.
The Ethernet jack, meanwhile, may provide a more reliable (and speedy) connection to the internet and to your home network than the built-in WiFi. Small Android TV boxes and sticks of this sort are notorious for having flaky WiFi reception.
