Android TV boxes – What are they?
These incredible little boxes run the Android Operating System. You can install any Android apps that you desire onto it. Once you have your box loaded, you’re able to do pretty much anything that you can on your smartphone or tablet.
Where did the Android box come from?
Matricom is indisputably the first company to produce the Android box. Their first product was known as the G-Box Midnight. There was no competition back in 2010 when their developers were working on the G-Box. There was no demand in the marketplace either. Considering there was no such thing as an Android streaming device, Matricom had to create an entire market demand for such a product. This was easy to accomplish due to the Kodi Media Center.
Introducing Kodi (formerly known as XBMC)
Kodi was the driving force behind the market push for the Android box. Due to its ability to run on the G-Box thanks to the many talented developers on the Kodi/XBMC team, the G-Box now had a place in the market. This incredible media center was the focus of Matricom’s efforts. Their team worked tirelessly with the code made public by the Kodi/XBMC team to be compatible with their product. The end result was a marriage made in heaven. The Android box now had a true purpose and marketing mission. The G-Box soon after went viral.
G-Box goes viral
It didn’t take long for the word to get out: There’s a device available that can run Kodi that costs under $100! These were big headlines back in 2011. At this time XBMC required more expensive hardware such as an X-Box or a PC to run. The G-Box made it possible to run the media center on a device that was portable and affordable. This created a huge market frenzy which resulted in over a million G-Boxes being sold within the first year. It didn’t take long for this to grab the attention of others.
Google’s attempt with the ‘Nexus Q’ box
Shortly after Matricom released the first G-Box Q, Google was right behind them with their own box called the “Nexus Q”. Unfortunately for Google, they were late to their own party (considering they are the ones that created Android). Google couldn’t compete with the viral G-Box Q at the time. Within less than a year the Nexus box was shelved. [source: Wikipedia]
Chinese clones enter the market
The first wave of competitors looking to score a quick buck were Chinese companies making “knock-off” G-Boxes. Matricom’s very popular G-Box MX2 was cloned by China and called simply the “MX” box, which was similar to the MX2 except it used an unrefined OS firmware and lacked quality hardware. As soon as the G-Box Q was released by Matricom, China was right behind them with the “Q” box. It seems like nobody can think of their own name for products that Matricom designs. Again, the “Q” box was a box designed to capture a piece of the huge pie that Matricom had created with the invention of the Android box.
Amazon and their “FireTV” and “Firestick”
Of course, Amazon was paying attention and wanted in on the action. Years after the G-Box has been in the market, Amazon released its own version of Android product called the “FireTV” [source: Wikipedia]. The FireTV launch was a little rough in the start with a lot of bad reviews based on critical software flaws. It didn’t take long for Amazon to adapt and they fixed a lot of the issues that plagued the 1st-gen FireTV. Amazon made a super-affordable stick that ended up going viral. While not nearly as powerful as the G-Box, the Firestick became a hit due to its low cost and ease of use.
The Nvidia Shield appears
Nvidia is well-known for its incredible video cards. They have been a household name in the graphics industry for many, many years. The G-Box made such a huge mark on the industry that even companies such as Nvidia decided to take a swing at building a device that runs Android on the TV. Their market focus was a bit different, however, and went after higher performance customers. The Shield is a marvel of an Android device sporting incredible specs and a much higher price tag. This didn’t stop them from becoming successful, however, and the Shield is still a top-selling product along with the G-Box even to this day.
The future of Android boxes
Matricom continues its legacy of the G-Box line with the G-Box Q3 and plans to continue to make the best Android devices possible. Even with all of the competition in the marketplace, Matricom has stayed in the forefront of Android box technology due to the sheer popularity of the G-Box. Matricom continues to support its products all the way back to the 1st gen G-Box Q which is several years old now. In fact, there are still millions of G-Boxes online that are over 5 years old as of this writing! This just goes to show the incredible quality and craftsmanship that has been put into the G-Box. Stay tuned for the next generation of Android G-Box which will surely come in due time.
Where can I buy the G-Box?
The G-Box Q3 is the latest Android box by Matricom. It is currently available on the Matricom website and Amazon for under $100. The legendary G-Box after all of these years has stuck true to its promise of always providing the world with the best box possible under $100.
