Two for less than the price of one - Rii RK700 2.4Ghz Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

This keyboard/mouse combination is a great addition for anyone looking for a more customary interface with an Android box, Nvidia Shield, etc.

The keyboard is responsive, consistent, has a good feedback feel and is small enough to keep on the coffee table without looking too geeky. The mouse has adjustable DPI and works great in place of finger swipes on game menus and touch sensitive apps.

Both devices link to the same USB dongle. This is great for Android TV boxes, where USB ports always seem to be at a premium. Heck, even the Nvidia Shield only has two. I haven't tried this combo with windows or MAC but have no reason to think the result would be any different. The devices are plug and play on android.

If you'll be using this combo in the living room, i'd recommend a nice lap desk. Other than that, you can't go wrong with this well-built set for less than the price of a good wireless mouse. Go for it.

Old school feel with brand new tech - Rii Rx100 Backlit Gaming Keyboard

If you game in the dark, a lighted keyboard is an absolute must.

This great keyboard from Rii gives you a choice of three lighting colors, all easy on the eyes but great for identifying those less often used keys in a dark room. We all know you're going to spend most of your time with your fingers on the movement buttons and the space bar. This keyboard gives you the advantage of finding keys you're not resting on with just a glance, while keeping your room dark to allow full immersion in your game.

The other advantage of this Rii keyboard is the great feel. It feeds back to your fingers like the mechanical keyboards of old that we all love. That's great not just for gaming, but for those of us who touch-type, it's a feeling we forgot we missed.

You could spend a lot more on a keyboard, but i'm not sure why you would.

A New Player in the Gamepad Game - Rii Wireless Bluetooth Touchpad Gamepad

Extremely light but very well-built, this versatile controller is well worth a look for Android gamers.

The controller paired easily with my Nvidia Shield and with my BLU R1 HD. Buttons and sticks are very responsive with no more lag than any Bluetooth controller (blame the protocol, not the device). Playing Riptide Renegade and Asphalt 8 was a pleasure. Even platformers like Leo's Fortune were eminently playable with this controller.

It charges quickly and holds it's charge. It feels great in the hand, especially if you're more accustomed to an Xbox One controller than to the parallel sticks of a PS4.

The Transport controls are great for video and audio playback and the touchpad is a must for games that support a controller in-game but not for navigating menus.

The controller comes well packaged and includes all the accessories you need, including the all important clip for your phone.

Overall, a very nice piece of gear for the price.

And......exhale - The Minix Neo U9-H

Amlogic S912H processor, Mali T-820 GPU, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Storage

"Good things come to those who wait”, my mother used to say. She also said, “If ifs and ands were pots and pans, the world would be a kitchen.” She was full of pithy stuff like that.
But in this case, she was right. The Minix NEO U9-H may not have released back when everybody else was flooding the market with S912 Android boxes, but boy was it worth the wait.
I’ve seen a half dozen or more of those early S912 releases and I’d be hard pressed to tell you any difference among them. They all worked (mostly). They were faster than the last generation of boxes (kinda). They ran Kodi 17 (until it crashed).
But the NEO U9-H from Minix is an example of what happens when you take your time and get it right.
Physically indistinguishable from the NEO U1 (see my review for that S905 beauty, still available), the U9-H packs not just the additional punch of the faster processor, but first class RAM (that means faster installs and launches), Wildvine 1 DRM protection, and Dolby Digital licensing (that means your DD and DTS files are all supported natively in every app).

Antutu benchmarks this box at over 42,000, but that’s just a number. A really good number, but just a number. The real test is in day to day usage and, having lived with this streamer for the better part of 3 days, let me tell you, it flies. Closing and opening apps is no problem. Boot up times are practically non-existent, and navigating menus is instantaneous and effortless. The best devices disappear and let their operation become second nature. That’s what the U9-H does. You forget it’s there.
The box is super stable, a testament to Minix’s philosophy of getting it right, not fast. I have yet to have anything crash on me, even when I get lazy and forget to kill the apps running in the background. Build quality is rock-solid, as with all of their devices.

It’s full of thoughtful little things, like a navigation bar that’s there when you want it, and gone when you don’t. It runs the Android TV version of YouTube as well as the stock android version. That makes the infrared remote much more useful in YouTube. The remote codes are in Logitech’s database, so your harmony remote is easy to program. It’s details like that that set Minix apart.

If you want to bump the experience up another notch, Minix offers the NEO A3 Air Mouse remote. Designed for Minix devices, this ergonomic remote adds gyroscopic air mouse functionality and a full QWERTY keyboard, making an already elegant interface even easier to navigate.

In the price vs. performance world of Android Media Streamers, this is the best you’ll find. Hands down.

Great Bang for the Buck – The Mifanstech TX3 Pro

If, like most of us, you’re looking for the sweet spot at the intersection of price and performance, The TX3 Pro is a great place to stop.

This handsome, matte finish box sports the new S905X processor, 1gb of RAM, 8gb of internal storage and it runs the latest Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The great advantage of Marshmallow is, if you find 8gb is not enough storage for you, you can always expand the internal storage with a micro-sd card. Sweet!

It comes with lots of useful apps pre-installed, including Mobdro and, of course, Kodi 16.1. This current stable version of Kodi comes with the best selection of add-ons I’ve seen in one of these android TV boxes. Usually, I’ll swap the pre-installed Kodi build for one of my own choosing (and you still can if you want to), but that’s really not necessary with this box. Mifanstech has included everything you need for great Movie and TV watching.

The Play Store works perfectly and the box is plenty fast enough for any type of video you throw at it. It even comes with my preferred version of YouTube, which is the version for Android TV. This version is much easier to use with the included IR remote control. Of course, you can always pop a USB mouse or air mouse into one of the two provided USB ports for better functionality. 

There may be more powerful boxes out there, but if your goal is to watch movies or TV on a reliable, easy to use box that won’t break the bank, then the TX3 Pro should definitely be on your short list.

Welcome to the Real World – The Minix Neo U1

With all due respect to the Wachowski brothers (sisters?) and Keanu Reeves, this NEO is The One.

I’ve reviewed literally dozens of android TV boxes and owned even more. I’ve run the cheapest little plastic boxes eBay had to offer and spent a year of my life with the Nvidia Shield and at least some time with every conceivable media streamer in between. This is the best bang for the buck I’ve ever owned when it comes to streaming media players of the Android variety.

The Minix NEO U1 boasts first-class build quality, with heavy plastics and great fit and finish. IT’s really a large step above most Android boxes and feels every bit as solid as a piece of high-end electronics should.

The NEO U1 has the Amlogic 905 SOC, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage.  It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. I know, it doesn’t sound like the specs you get with the latest crop of TV boxes, but it’s not about sheer brawn. It’s about how you implement it. Just like two PCs with identical specs can offer completely different user experiences, so it is with Android TV boxes.

I run the Antutu benchmark app on every box I review because, while other apps will tell you what you processor is capable of, how fast you RAM is, etc., Antutu gives you the best idea of how powerful the box is as a whole. I have yet to review a TV box, regardless of processor, that beats the NEO U1.

Raw numbers aside, it’s really about what you get when you lean back with the remote or the gamepad in your hands. And that’s where the Minix delivers. From a choice of launchers to the zippiest read/write storage I’ve ever found in this application, the attention to the user experience is what sets this box apart. Mine came pre-installed with two different versions of YouTube, the Play Store version and the more remote-control-friendly version for Android TV. Now that’s thoughtful. The navigation bar and notification bar are there if you want them, but disappear when they should. 

And the fact that this is the first box I’ve used that runs my Blu-Ray rips from a portable hard drive, in Kodi, with perfect DTS and Dolby Digital pass-through, just knocked my socks off.

Throw in regular online updates (that actually work) and you’ve got what is now my every day streaming box (at least until their new NEO U9-H comes out).

Oh, and...

Add the A2 lite air mouse/remote control and the experience becomes even better. Since this NEO U1 has access to all Play Store apps, you need a mouse or air mouse to take advantage of those apps that use a touch interface. Beyond that, the A2 lite is optimized for Minix devices and adds tons of functionality like shortcut keys and transport keys for media playback. Well worth the modest investment.

Know What You Need – The GooBang Doo T20 LCD Projector

One of the things I ask people who come to me for tech advice is, “How are you going to use it?”

Folks are most often disappointed in an electronics purchase because they go into it with unrealistic expectations. The think they’ve found the bargain of the century only to discover they’re trying desperately to squeeze an inexpensive square peg into a pricey round hole.

Take the GooBang Doo T20 LCD projector, for example.

This is really a great piece of equipment at a very reasonable price as long as you don’t expect it to serve the same purpose as a 70-inch UHD Flat screen. It’s not meant to.

The T20 has all the inputs you need (2 USB, Full size SD, HDMI, monitor) and all the functions you could want if you use it for the right application.

This is a killer presentation projector. It’s extremely light and portable, throws a good clear picture at reasonable distances, and is well built enough to toss in a check-in bag without worrying it will be destroyed by the baggage carousel.  The Included IR remote has all the buttons you need and is responsive for both video watching and presentations (the projector has IR receivers on the front AND back).

It’s terrific as a second big screen for the kids to watch cartoons and play video games without complaining about having to use the “little TV”. In fact, the T20 is adjustable enough to make their “TV” the biggest in the house.

Will it be your main viewing device? No. Do you want to pay to have it mounted to the ceiling? No.

But with all these bells and whistles and, if your expectations are realistic and you know what you’re buying, I doubt you’ll find a better projector for the money.