Noble has tied up with California based Skiodo to launch the Android-powered 50SM48P01 Smart TV in India. The company says that it is the next evolution internet connected TV as it comes with advanced functionalities.
The smart TV sports a 48-inch 1080p LED display, and the LED cells are from Samsung. There are 2 x 10w speakers to offer an immersive media experience. The TV is powered by a quad-core Cortex A7 processor with 512MB RAM and 1GB internal storage. For connectivity it includes 3 x HDMI port, USB port, VGA port and WiFi.
There is inbuilt Miracast support that allows your
Smart TV to connect to your phones and laptops and stream the contents to the TV. It come pre-installed with popular social apps including Skype and WhatsApp and the TV comes with motion sensor plus keyboard remote.
The Noble Skiodo 50SM48P01 Smart TV has been priced at Rs. 39,999 and is exclusively available from Amazon Indian backed by one year warranty.
Micromax launched its first 4K Uultra High Definition televisions in India. The TV's will come in two screen sizes - 42-inches and 49-inches. They are priced at Rs. 39,990 and Rs. 49,990 and will be available exclusively via Flipkart starting March 12.
The 42-inch runs Android 4.2 Jellybean and comes with 2x HDMI and 3x USB ports.
The 49-inch TV comes with gold-colored metal frame and glass finish. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with 3x HDMI and 3x USB ports. Both TVs feature display panels with 3840x2160 pixels screen resolution.
Both TVs will also have access to Google Play Store to download apps. It comes pre-loaded with apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, YouTube and many more.
The TVs come with dual-core processor, quad-core GPU, 2.2GB internal storage (expandable up to 32GB), 1GB RAM, DLNA, Wi-Fi and a VGA connector. It sports box speakers which offers SRS sound system and 5 band equalizer.
Naviagtion is via Smart Somato-Sensory remote control which works similar to the air mouse to make navigation around the user interface easier. The TVs also come pre-loaded with handful of motion sensor games and support screen-mirroring feature.
Samsung's Smart TVs new privacy policy allows that company and its partners to listen to everything the user says. The voice command feature on Samsung's Smart TV could allow the interception of conversations and their transmission to third parties.
The new privacy policy states - "Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition."
Samsung makes it clear that the Voice recognition tool can be turned off through settings. Even though that will stop the working of voice recognition feature entirely, the company will still be able to collect data on how people use the TV.
“Voice recognition, which allows the user to control the TV using voice commands, is a Samsung Smart TV feature, which can be activated or deactivated by the user. The TV owner can also disconnect the TV from the Wi-Fi network.”
Samsung on its website states that the data collected could be potentially passed on to law enforcement, advertisers and other groups.
Electronic Frontier Foundation Activist Parker Higgins on his twitter account pointed out similarities between George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" and Samsung's smart TVs.
This is not the first time a Smart TV has been intercepting and transmitting data. In 2013, LG acknowledged that its smart TV's were collecting data about viewer's habits without their permission. The company said it fixed the problem with an update.
People who are concerned and worried about being spied by their SmartTV can easily disable voice recognition in the settings menu of the TV.
