There've been several attempts to capture the (potentially
mythical) micro-console market. The highest profile of these was
probably the Ouya, which launched from a successful Kickstarter campaign and has struggled to gain marketshare ever since.
Most,
if not all, existing micro-consoles have tried to combine Android
games, a game pad, and your TV in an attempt to compete with consoles
like the Xbox or Playstation, only at a significantly lower cost.
ZRRO Now a new contender is entering the ring. ZRRO is
trying something different. Rather than try to convince Android
developers to support a gamepad, ZRRO is bringing the touch experience
to your TV. That means you can play virtually any Android game on ZRRO.
So
how does it work? ZRRO consists of two parts. The ZRRO Box™ is a
set-top box with HDMI out. It runs Android OS 4.4 on a 2.0GHz Quad Core
processor with 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a micro SD card slot
for expandable memory, and two USB ports. ZRRO says it supports
streaming on screens with up to 4K resolution.
The other
part of the system is the ZRRO Pad™ that features the company's zTouch™
hover and touch technology. The Pad substitutes for the touch screen on a
mobile device. You tap and drag on the pad in the same way you would on
a tablet, but if you hover your fingers over the surface of the pad,
indicators on the TV show where your fingertips are poised as well as
how close to the touchpad they are. The idea is you can use all the
touch features while looking at the big screen (there is no display on
the touch pad itself so you won't find yourself staring at the display
in your lap rather than at the TV).
You can see this in action in the video below at about the one minute mark:
So where can you get one? Well you can't, yet. ZRRO is using a Kickstarter campaign
to help get manufacturing off the ground. The campaign should be live
by the time you read this. ZRRO is aiming at a $149-$199 price point at
retail. If Kickstarter isn't your thing you can sign up at the website to get $50 off when the product launches.
ZRRO I'm
generally not a fan of touch controls in gaming, but the idea of using
touch without my hands obscuring my view of the game I'm playing is kind
of intriguing. Combine that with the fact that mobile games are
improving all the time and maybe ZRRO will be the micro-console that
finally brings the Android-in-the-living-room audience out of hiding.
ZRRO 
ZRRO 
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