Pivos Xios DS Media Play Android

Product: Pivos XIOS DS Media Play
Provided By: Pivos Group
Price: ~$100 Online at time of publication

Introduction:

Today we are taking a quick look at the Pivos XIOS DS Media Play device and sharing our thoughts on this Android 4.0.4 device.  The XIOS DS is a simple, little Android box that hooks up to your TV by HDMI and brings the "Smart" to any TV.  What I found tantalizing with the DS Media Play is the number of USB ports on the device as well as the XBMC support.  It comes with a customized version of the software that allows for hardware decoding of media and provides a much smoother user experience than other software-only solutions that are readily available on the market.

This won't be an in-depth review although we did take a pretty long and hard look at the Pivos unit itself - both outside and in.  We'll have those pictures below.  Let's start off with some first impressions.

First Impressions:

The XIOS DS is an extremely small unit that came in a very healthy-sized box.  In fact, the box itself was a bit misleading as I expected the DS Media Play to be a lot larger than it actually is.

The included bundle is more than adequate for a Android box this size.  It includes a power adapter, IR remote, and even an HDMI cable.  The HDMI cable is a nice touch that doesn't come with a lot of other entry-level Android media players.  It was a nice addition to this bundle.

Around the Box:

We'll take a quick look around the XIOS and then comment on a few notable things after we've made our way around.

The front has a small IR-window that allows the sensor to pick up the signal from the included remote.  Also on the front are a few indicator LEDs to keep you informed.  On the right side we find a couple of USB ports as well as a MicroSD card slot that can accept cards up to 32GB.  The left is pretty uneventful, and the rear holds the Ethernet, another USB, HDMI, power connector and the power button.

The bottom of the unit is rubber-coated and has a button for a reset "pin" to be used.

On the next page we'll tear this sucker right apart and take a look inside before we plug it into a TV.  I hope it still works when we are done.