Well aside from smartphones and their tablet series, Kata Philippines has introduced a new product to complete their Anroid line up for this year.
Kata Box is here!
Kata Box is essentially an Android device, pre-configured to turn a non smart television with HDMI port into a smarter TV. It can play your favorite Youtube clips, it has pre-installed games, productivity apps and many more.
Kata Box comes with a remote control which you use to navigate the on-screen menu.
Kata Box UI
If you are familiar with Apple TV, then it works like that.
You connect your Kata Box to your WiFi network, login your Google Account and you are good to go. Like I said, it has pre-configured UI that will make it easy for users to navigate and use the box.
For home users, Kata Box can ba a media player with USB port present to attach your flash drives with your favorite movie clips.
Kata has categorized the pre-installed apps into TV, Office, Games and Settings. Native apps by Kata like WipeOut, and Contacts are also pre configured. Google Play and Youtube apps are positioned in the home screen for easy navigation.
Kata Box specs
Amlogic S805 Quad core 1.5GHz
1GB RAM
8GB ROM (Internal Storage)
MicroSD slot for additional storage
Mali-450
107mm X 107mm X 25mm
Android 4.4 KitKat
WiFi
LAN port
2 USB Type A
1 HDMI 1.4
1 RJ45
DC-IN Jack
AV Output
Additional accessories doest not come free. You may have to buy Game Controller, Keyboard with Mouse, and HDMI to VGA converter to fully enjoy the Kata Box.
We were told that this will retail between USD40 to USD60
Initial impressions
We already have one unit at our HQ for testing. Installation is quite easy. You simply connect your HDMI cable to the box, connect the wall charger and turn it on using the remote control.
The next step is to connect the Kata Box to your home WiFi network.
Upon connecting it to the Internet, Kata Box prompted for an update. We just hit the update button and for about 1 minute or so, the update is finished. Restarted and we are ready to use the device.
The next thing we did was to login our Google account so that we can update the pre-installed apps, and to access our own Youtube channels and subscription.
Pre-installed apps like iTVAppStore, Spotify, MX Player, TuneIN Radio, Videos app, Music, and Play Games are handy and ready to be used. But you can install other apps are you wish.
Youtube playback is smooth and easy. I have yet to master the navigation using the remote control. But if you wish for a more smooth experience, a wireless keyboard and mouse will do it better.
I played a video clip from my flash drive, used MX Player, and it went well without any lags.
Final words
I used to have Apple TV and enjoyed a lot using it. I just sold it when I already had my smart TV. Having Kata Box around will be a big help in homes that are not yet ready to spend a huge amount of money for smart TV. For the kids who lovesYoutube viewing, playing games, watching contents from Netflix, History, Discovery Channel, Kata Box will be a good investment.
We will share our review in a week’s time or so. So hang in there. Stay tuned and come back again.
Kata Box will be available in the Philippine market, Hongkong, Singapore, Indonesia, US and Canada.
No, I didn’t. So as a workaround without having to install any app, what I do is open the pre-installed ES Explorer then from there under Apps, I launch the Youtube App I installed from Google Play.
However, thank you for taking time to find a solution to this.
did you find out how to do it?. What I did was install google launcher, following installation of all prerequisite google apps. Then used the google launcher as my default launcher. You will find that you have two installed youtube, and also you can find other apps that your previously installed that might probable are not viewable by kata launcher.
Hi Spidey. How did you update the pre-installed Youtube App? I was trying to do it so I installed from the Google Play. However, if I click the Youtube icon, it still launches the same youtube app that is pre-installed.
Thank you NoMad Man for dropping by and commenting. I will take note of your points and will include them in my full review.
This and any other review of this product is utter crap. What about 4k videos? Any lags in search, FFW/RWD? Does it have DTS, digital out, does it support apps to SD, what are the frame rates with games, how smooth is the menus using Plex client or hulu. Is it a 100 or gigabit lan port? Is the wifi 11n only or does it support 11ac. Instead to trying to get the first review out, how about doing a decent job with the testing and write-up? I only commented here because it’s the first hit on google. Pat yourself in the back for that.
I was really wondering what kata box is and what it can do… With your initial review i learned more about this product and i would like to have one…
Hi Jane, haven’t tried to install APK yet. On your second question, yes there is Google Playstore. You can login and install your fave apps.
Thanks for dropping by.
can you install apk thru flash drive? or access google playstore?