IN Media !ROFL Adds Android To IP Set Top Box

Remember the bizarrely named IN Media !ROFL set-top box from a few months back?  The company has just announced that they're using Android with the IP STB, apparently including Android Market access so that users will be able to download applications and games and play them on their HDTV.  Details are scarce, but IN Media also says they support cloud-based streaming from online storage, together with video-on-demand through services like Netflix and Blockbuster.

The !ROFL itself is a palm-sized box with ethernet and HDMI connections, USB 2.0, WiFi b/g, a 3.5mm headphone socket and an S/PDIF port, together with an SD slot for up to 32GB cards.  As well as streaming content it can play local files in up to 1080p HD resolution, and if you plug in a USB webcam it can apparently make Skype video calls (there's also an integrated microphone in the !ROFL itself).

That's alongside a browser, internet radio client, IM, photo gallery and other apps.  IN Media aren't saying much about their Android install – we don't even know what version it is – but they do reckon it'll allow for "seamless integration" with phones and tablets running the Google platform.  Right now the !ROFL is supposedly available in China, with US and Indian launches planned, but we don't know pricing or anything more.

Press Release:

IN Media Announces Set Top Box Integration with Android

Integration of Google Platform Brings Seamless Access to Applications and Content to HDTV

LOS ALTOS, Calif., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — IN Media Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IMDC) today announced the Set Top Box integration with Google's Android platform.

IN Media's !ROFL IP Set Top Box is now integrated with Google's Android platform providing consumers the ability to download games and applications from Google's Android Market application store. Customers will experience seamless integration with their Android based mobile phones, Tablet PC's running Android and all Android enabled devices within IN Media's Set top Box !ROFL.

Consumers can now share, view, play and interact with content driven from their hand-held devices to their television sets. "With !ROFL, we have taken the applications to big screen TVs, not only providing a 1080P High Definition content viewing experience, while enjoying the full range of Android supported applications," said Dr. Nick Karnik, IN Media C.E.O.

"In today's world of convergence, having a seamless experience on multiple devices using a standard platform of delivery, new cloud computing technology takes users to an era of on demand content," Karnik stated. Personal content storage streaming to multiple devices allows users to store content on the network hosted by players such as Amazon eliminating the need to burn DVDs to a hard disk to create a content library. !ROFL takes advantage of Cloud Computing solutions.

”My Time is the new Prime Time,” Dr. Karnik said.

IN Media is a leading developer of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) appliances and interfaces with implementations of the technology in key provinces of China and planned roll outs in India and the United States.

Dr. Karnik is a technology entrepreneur with strong technical and marketing background in media and technology businesses. His vision for IPTV induced him to design new hardware and software platforms for cost effective delivery of content. Dr. Karnik has over 20 years of experience in information technology and media companies.

IN Media Corp. is a key driver in the convergence of Internet and broadcast television as Internet based content becomes more prevalent with mainstream consumers. IN Media's set top solution takes advantage of these initiatives and is starting to be shipped to international markets.