The ABOX A1 is one of the slimmest Android boxes sent for review. It has the now standard small slab design but with a much slimmer profile than other Android boxes.
The slim design manages to pack in a MicroSD card slot, 2 USB ports, HDMI and 100MB Ethernet port. It also has WiFi which works well and doesn’t need an unsightly external WiFi aerial.
Along with the ABox you get a HDMI cable, power cable and a remote. It’s an IR remote so you’ll need to have line of sight, it does an OK job but, as always with Android boxes, it’s much better to use an airmouse/keyboard combination such as the
DroidBox VIP remote.
Power it up and you’re presented with a big button interface that’s easy to navigate using the included remote. There is a row of small shortcuts to apps at the bottom of the home screen that you can customise, selecting or deselecting the apps you want quick access to.
The big buttons can’t be customised, but as some of them are actually just folders holding app shortcuts you can add to what’s stored inside the folders, handy if you end up installing a lot of apps and don’t want to search through the app tray.
It has a number of apps pre-installed and they all favour streaming, so you’ve got things like Netflix, YouTube etc. A version of Kodi is installed, however it’s not a clean version, it has a lot of addons installed. On firing up Kodi some addons triggered warnings that they weren’t working correctly, it’s recommended that rather than mess around trying to fix them you uninstall this version and install a fresh, clean, version.
As a basic internet connected box for streaming and a bit of casual web browsing it works fine. It can be a slow and frustrating process entering text via the included basic remote, especially when searching for things in YouTube or the Google Play store.
If you’re looking for an Android box that’ll also let you play games the ABOX A1 is not the ‘droid box you’re looking for. It downloaded and installed both Asphelt8 and Modern Combat 5 fine, but refused to run either of them, getting stuck on the loading screen and never making it to the game.
If you’re looking for a basic streaming only box to add some smarts to an old TV this low cost box is worth considering. However, it’s a crowded market and for similar money you can buy a far more capable Android box.
The ABOX A1 is available from:
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ABOX A1 Android Box Video Review
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