China’s LeTV Channels Apple to Make an Internet TV Box

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Chinese video-streaming site LeTV has launched its own internet TV box that’ll stream LeTV’s licensed content – a mix of movies, TV series, and cartoons – to televisions. Called the LeTV T1, it supports 1080p HD and costs 1,980 RMB (US$314) for the model with no hard-drive, or 2,980 RMB for the version that packs a 2TB drive. The set-top box itself looks a lot like the Apple TV, especially the sleek remote control handset.

The LeTV T1 – see its product page here – comes packed with an Android-based OS (pictured below) from which you can navigate LeTV’s content. There’s also an app store which permits the installing of third-party apps. Aside from serving as a cloud-oriented home entertainment system, the set-top box also supports 3D viewing.

This new product from the Chinese Hulu-esque site is not to be confused with the smart TV of the same name made by Lenovo. But it all goes to show that both smart TVs and set-top boxes are an increasingly big sector as the idea of web-enabled TVs catches on – especially in Japan and China. It’ll be interesting to see whether big names in the video-streaming market in China – such as Youku, or Baidu’s Qiyi – decide to make hardware of their own.