Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Probox2 Ultimate Mini PC...Fast and Fickle...






                                 The Probox2's Initial Discovery circa 2001......

The Probox2, also available as the Uhost2, is a mini Android computer from Smallart. The device allows the user to connect to a pc monitor or HDTV via HDMI and use it as a huge Android tablet (without touchscreen function). It features a dual core Rockchip RK3066 cpu clocked @ 1.6 GHZ with quad core Mali 400 graphics and 1 Gb of DDR3 RAM. My unit shipped from W2COMP with Android 4.1.1. It boots very quickly (30 seconds or so) and handles multitasking quite well as I was able to listen to Pandora radio while browsing Google Play and downloading multiple apps simultaneously without a hint of sluggishness.

                                   



                                             Included in the Box...














                                                
The Probox2 has two full size USB ports a micro USB for power input a microSd card slot and a female HDMI port which is nice for using a standard cable for connection to an HDTV or monitor. It does come with the stubby HDMI cable which allows the box to hang off the back of the monitor. Also included are micro usb cable and a 5 volt / 2 amp power supply.  




2 full size USB, micro USB for power and Micro SD slot.... small button is for connecting to a pc...












        Size comparison with the MK802II and a standard USB thumb drive...



   I've been using a 6ft. HDMI cable as well as a longer micro usb cable allowing me to position the device on top of my television stand for experimenting with placement effects on the wifi reception and to monitor heating issues. It also makes it easier to disconnect power in the event the device becomes unresponsive, as it has on occasion.




      The wifi on this device is very good and a substantial improvement on the MK802II which was acceptable.




One of the interesting features of this device is the air mouse remote with built in microphone which is RF and operates in crowded the 2.4 GHZ band. The air mouse is somewhat frustrating to use as it lacks precision, but is on par with the air remote feature on the Roku XS. It's convenient to turn the device on and off without having to toggle power.
The remote has decent range and I was able to use it from across the room with no perceptible degradation in function and seemed adequate selecting apps and even some basic text input via the onscreen keyboard. For anything that requires large amounts of text or apps that require significant user input you'll definitely want a mouse and keyboard. I'm using my usual Logitech K400 and it works just fine on the Probox2.


















 The Probox2 Phone Remote Android App with trackpad ( also has keyboard, not shown), it works well enough but do yourself a favor and use the Logitech K400 or equivalent... 







 I have been unable to recreate the excellent function of the microphone for voice search and voice to text that I've seen on other reviews of the device. I obtained mine through the normal consumer channels ( I paid for it ) so it's not one that was cherry picked by the manufacturer for my review. I was hoping for performance similar to my Android phone (which is great) but found that when using Google voice search the mic was picking up excessive case noise from just holding the remote. When I tried the voice recorder function it confirmed this suspicion and the audio was of very poor quality and had considerable distortion and background noise. When using it for Skype the remote audio was equally bad. 
For this reason the remote is somewhat of a disappointment as it adds substantially to the price and there of a number of nearly identical  Rockchip powered devices such as the Minix Geo G4 or the MK802III that cost considerably less. The remote was one of the major reasons I chose this particular build, oh well, buyer beware...


















    Note the unsecured mic element... a spot of duct seal yielded a slight reduction in case noise but still poor performance overall.... 




Another minor issue was the complete loss of audio from the device from which I could not recover without a complete hard reset to the original stock firmware. Uninstalling apps and restarting the device provided no relief. I suspect it was related to Splashtop2 as the problem occurred while using the app and hasn't been an issue since.







On a positive note, the speed and stellar wifi reception have made the stock web browser function with enough competence to make my need for Splashtop2 very limited. The latest version of Chrome functions admirably as well. This is the best web browsing experience I've had on an Android device to date...







Having read reviews touting the Probox2's robust build quality and lack of overheating, all I've been able to discern is the device has a slightly larger than average plastic enclosure with a nice matte finish. Internally the PCB does appear to be of excellent quality and there is some type of rubberized silicone heatsink on the microprocessor. What this intriguing little cube of dense tacky rubber stuff is remains to be seen but after some research it appears to be something similar to this stuff...

















The case does get quite warm after the Rockchip processor has been pushed hard by video streaming and based on my assessment of the enclosure design and heatsink configuration I'm of the opinion that the RK3066 chip gets fairly hot. I'm not overly confident of the silicone cubes ability to sink heat to the outer case and will be experimenting with various Peabody Labs alternative designs.


                                The Rockchip Processor Exposed...

The stock firmware comes with a choice two launchers with large icons that seem to be well configured for use with the air remote. I opted for installing the Apex launcher which provides a considerable number of customization options including the use of live wallpapers. Apex launcher installed without a hitch and has been functioning flawlessly.










                                  Default Launcher with Nice Big Icons



                                                Alternate Launcher...





                                  Apex Launcher with Live Wallpaper...


The device supports a number of resolutions including 1080P, but it's actually just 720P upscaled to 1080. However, it looks and functions fine and I'm very pleased with it's rendering on my inexpensive HDTV. It has a nice screen scaling feature for adjusting the display to the monitor as well as the nifty screenshot button on the taskbar which was used extensively for this posting  .










 




The Probox2 has Google Play preinstalled and runs most of the standard video apps, Netflix, Crackle, Youtube, and so on with the zippy speed and quick load times I was expecting from this hardware. No disappointment here. this thing is exceptionally fast. One notable exception is Hulu Plus which is currently not supported on this device. There have been very few "wait / close" prompts that seemed to plague the MK802II. However, the device has been prone to random reboots and freeze ups with moderate frequency. I haven't been able to determine if this is a thermal issue or the fimware problem. I'm leaning towards a firmware/hardware conflict as I've experienced issues shortly after booting before the device had a chance to overheat.



















                             No Hulu Plus Support...WTF?... C'mon Already...














                                               Netflix Works Just Fine 


Benchmarking of the Probox2 has been somewhat problematic as the device usually freezes and needs a power toggle to reset when running Antutu. The few times I've been able to get the benchmarking app to complete yielded mediocre scores that don't seem to be in line with how the device performs in actual use, which is very good in my opinion...



               The low and seemingly inaccurate AnTuTu score.....


My Logitech C310 webcam functions on the Probox2. I was able to get a number of apps to record video and take still photos. Skype, however would not recognize it's existence...










A favorite app is XBMC which is a must have for anyone using this device as a HTPC or multimedia streaming device. It has a plethora of slick features and content available. I did have a bit of trouble getting it working as the version I installed ( 12.1 FRODO ) that functioned fine on the MK802II had intermittent functionality on the Probox2. Most of the video add on links displayed as broken leaving virtually no content available for viewing. However, with some perseverance I was able to find this unofficial alpha version for Android, ( 13.0 Gotham ). It installed fine and appears to have full functionality and an amazing amount of content for consumption.




















   XBMC's Nifty Weather Display Features a Multitude of Options Including Doppler Radar...




                     XBMC has a Large Amount of Content Available...









I was able to pair the Probox2 to my Motorola Electrify phone via Bluetooth 2.0, however file transfers were hit and miss. I eventually downloaded a file transfer app from Google Play before getting consistent transfers. It seems to have decent range as I was able to easily connect with my Motorola H720 headset while it was still inside a vehicle in the garage some 30 plus feet away.   













After a week or so of using the Probox2 my impressions are somewhat of an exaggeration of my previous experiences with Android stick computers. When it's working the Probox2 is extremely fast and responsive, a very impressive experience. When it's not working, it's completely facepalm not working. At times it makes one wonder if Smallart could be a subsidiary of the infamous Acme Corporation. This device is a significant step up in performance compared to the single core Allwinner A10 powered MK802II that I thought was just adequate for basic functionality.
 



               

My conclusion is that the Probox2 is an admirable piece of hardware limited by an unpolished and sometimes ineffectual OS. I doubt I'm the first person to wonder if  the Android icon should be a bug instead of a robot. This segment of computing continues to grow and shows great promise. I'm extremely impressed with the speed and functionality of this little cuboid and it's a definite winner as a TV streaming device or as a portable computer that can easily fit in a shirt pocket. As with most of the Android Mini PC's the experience is not without it's problems and it still has a not quite ready for prime time feel. It is an Android device so one must limit one's expectations accordingly... That said, with a little patience the Probox2 mini pc should be easy enough to set up and use for any motivated novice and the rewards are worth the effort...

3 comments:

  1. Just ordered the Probox2 B4 reading your review. I hope my remote works better than yours. I'll let you know.

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  2. My experience with the Probox2 is remarkably similar to yours Peabody. The thing is smoking fast but the remote audio is horrible. Please post any updates that fix the problem if you find one.

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  3. w2comp.com have better custom firmwares for the probox2. see http://w2comp.com/detail.asp?catid=74585&subcatid=51474&pdtid=677794 under support and downloads. I like the April 4.1.1 w2comp version. I think you'll like this.

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