{"id":11615,"date":"2014-03-08T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T10:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=11615"},"modified":"2014-03-07T21:03:44","modified_gmt":"2014-03-07T21:03:44","slug":"enter-the-miipc-hardware-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/08\/enter-the-miipc-hardware-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Enter the MiiPC (Hardware Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MiiPC<\/a>Competition to make smaller, faster, lower powered phones has resulted in cell phone chip manufacturers to the cutting edge of technology, now outpacing computer chip manufacturers in technical abilities. \u00a0As cell phone capabilities grew, software initially designed for PCs was ported onto the new platform. \u00a0However, cell phone technology has now come full circle and consumers can now purchase game consoles and even personal computers powered by the same chips found on popular cutting edge cell phones. \u00a0Most of these new \u201cboxes\u201d run on some form of the common Android operating system initially found on phones but is now being used in a wide ranging number of ways. \u00a0One of the newest entries to the field of Android powered hardware is the MiiPC box. The MiiPC claims to bring web-based desktop applications (cloud-based computing), \u00a0media center capabilities, and serve as a gaming console all for under $100. \u00a0\u00a0To top things off, it also has a flexible and robust set of parental controls to make it family friendly.<\/p>\n

The MiiPC is extremely simple to setup, just plug in a USB keyboard and mouse, hop through a few menu screens to get the WiFi connected (or plug in a direct cable) and you\u2019re up and running. \u00a0Many free and low-cost Android apps are available in the many Android app stores around the internet. \u00a0One<\/span><\/p>\n

The MiiPC folks claim their little black box can be a multitasker in your living room area. \u00a0Using your HDTV (or a computer monitor), the MiiPC acts as a gaming console, desktop computer, and media center all rolled into one and tied up with a \u201cbow\u201d of impressive parental controls. \u00a0Lets take a look at each claim, one at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Manage<\/a><\/p>\n

Parental Controls
\n<\/span><\/strong>The parental controls on the MiiPC stand out as its most impressive feature. \u00a0Controllable through the console itself, via the web, or even iOS and Android apps, the MiiPC can be monitored and managed separately for each member of your family. \u00a0Access to individual programs on the MiiPC can be turned on and off for each user, monitored on the fly, and known \u201caddictive\u201d type games or web sites that seem to just suck up a child\u2019s time can be given maximum time limits. \u00a0There\u2019s even a handy way to generate reports of how time is spent by a user, perfect for going over a child\u2019s habits to show just why Jimmy is out of time for playing one more round of Angry Birds\u2026 \u00a0The parental controls aren\u2019t going to be a panacea for all the parenting problems a computer can bring – parents would be wise to be careful of which apps are allowed (for example, allowing use of Facebook could be fairly harmless, or quite inappropriate – depending on your child\u2019s Facebook interactions.) \u00a0All in all, the MiiPC has some of the best and easiest to use parenting solutions I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

Desktop Computing
\n<\/span><\/strong>The MiiPC can function as a possible primary or (more likely) a second or third computer for members of the household. \u00a0Office-like word processors and spreadsheets can be downloaded as Android apps or simply use entirely on-line solutions like Google Docs. \u00a0Unlike the iOS platform, Android supports Flash technology (you have to install it separately) which means users can access many more web site features (even web browser based games) than can be found on an iPad or iPhone. \u00a0The MiiPC supports HDMI output which means it can easily be connected to either a modern HDTV or standard computer display. \u00a0Most personal files (documents and such) would typically be stored online in the \u201ccloud\u201d, but the MiiPC can also store files on SD cards or on USB drives for easy transfer to other computers. \u00a0In fact, one can simply plug in a large, external USB hard drive to greatly increase the MiiPC\u2019s storage capacity. \u00a0A final plus in the MiiPC\u2019s favor is its low energy footprint. \u00a0Since it runs off a chip designed for a phone, it uses very little energy compared to standard computers (10x less in some cases).<\/p>\n

Media Center
\n<\/span><\/strong>Having a large attached hard drive (or one accessible over your local internet) has additional advantages as it helps the MiiPC to function as a home media center. \u00a0Capable of playing locally stored movies and songs, the MiiPC is also able to take advantage of the wealth of Android apps set up by the major entertainment channels (and YouTube) to broadcast their content. \u00a0The MiiPC also works with popular both PLEX and XBMC media managers. \u00a0PLEX offers DVR type streaming as well as streaming of local files. \u00a0It is free but most of its better features require a subscription. \u00a0XBMC is an open source (ie. \u201cfree\u201d) media center that provides streaming of local files as well as a nice interface to most of the popular online channels. \u00a0One huge gap in the whole media center function is the lack of an easy to use Netflix option. \u00a0While there are technical issues involved, this is nearly a non-starter for most people looking for a media center device. \u00a0Thankfully, all the issues revolve around the software end, so it should eventually get cleared up. \u00a0For the time being, there is a workaround by installing a custom version of Netflix, but \u201cYour Milage May Vary\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Games<\/a><\/p>\n

Gaming Console
\n<\/strong>MiiPC is also touted as a console gaming device, with 100+ kid-friendly android games curated by the software, CannonBall – which also provides some game controller compatibility. \u00a0The MiiPC works with most PC gamepads, as well as popular controllers from the PS3 and XBox 360 (the unit does not come with a gamepad). \u00a0As an Andriod device, the MiiPC also has a wealth of inexpensive games available for that platform. \u00a0While I had no problems accessing and downloading games from the Cannonball app, they didn\u2019t particularly excite me. \u00a0Yes, the gamepad was working, but in the games I tried it seemed to have a problem with quick response times, making more action-oriented games particularly frustrating. \u00a0However, this is not an across the board problem. \u00a0Several of the apps I downloaded from outside the Cannonball app worked very well with the gamepad. \u00a0(Many of the Android app store games include or are including game controller support.) \u00a0The largest issue with using the MiiPC as a console is simply the lack of a touch screen. \u00a0Android tablets and phones have a touch screen and thus pretty much every game or app is expecting that sort of interface. \u00a0This makes any game requiring movement around the screen tiresome. \u00a0This is easily solved by using a mouse, making Angry Birds, various Tower Defense apps, etc\u2026 all perform perfectly. \u00a0That\u2019s great, but using a mouse sort of defeats the purpose of calling something a game console. \u00a0My final concern is with the computing power of the MiiPC. I downloaded several apps from typical app stores that seemed to cause the MiiPC to have a hard time keeping up its frame rate. \u00a0This is may be due to the nature of the Android market (hardware is very diverse so it is hard to gauge just how CPU intensive is appropriate for a game), but does demonstrate the performance of Android apps will certainly vary – much more than on other, more tightly controlled platforms. \u00a0On the plus side, dispensing with the controller and using a mouse (and possibly a keyboard) instead, opens up a much wider range of playable apps. \u00a0Games that need fine touch control – Angry Birds, strategy games, tower defense – become very playable. \u00a0In my opinion, the MiiPC doesn\u2019t quite live up to its aspirations to become a console unit. \u00a0Possibly, as future apps add in better controller support, it may evolve into a much better interface. \u00a0It does perform reasonably well as a desktop type computer that can play Android app games. \u00a0For now, don’t be expecting too much from sitting on a couch and playing games with a controller.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts
\n<\/strong><\/span>One thing that I haven\u2019t mentioned yet is its incompatibility with the most popular Android app store: Google Play. \u00a0Since MiiPC doesn\u2019t have a true touchpad interface, it is not allowed to interface with that app store. \u00a0However, there are a number of sites hosting free apps, and other sites (such as the Amazon app store) that have a good selection of paid apps.<\/p>\n

All in all, I think the MiiPC has a number of things for which it excels and a few that aren\u2019t quite ready for prime time. \u00a0The hardware seems fairly solid, so it is reasonable to assume that given sufficient support it can only get better. \u00a0For now, MiiPC is an excellent choice for someone looking for a handy way to monitor and govern their kids\u2019 computer use. \u00a0With a very easy to use interface and some quality monitoring options, it is one of the best systems I have seen (outside of tricky parental blocking on one\u2019s wifi router or some such thing\u2026) \u00a0It looks to work well as an inexpensive paper-writing, spreadsheet using, web surfing computer. \u00a0The media center portion works, but it currently lacks the (hopefully fixed in the future) big lack of access to Netflix. \u00a0Finally, the console portion just isn\u2019t ready for prime time. \u00a0This may change as more apps are adapted to optional gamepad controls. \u00a0Not bad for a computer that comes in under $100.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Competition to make smaller, faster, lower powered phones has resulted in cell phone chip manufacturers to the cutting edge of technology, now outpacing computer chip manufacturers in technical abilities. \u00a0As cell phone capabilities grew, software initially designed for PCs was ported onto the new platform. \u00a0However, cell phone technology has now come full circle and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[44,160,103,119],"class_list":["post-11615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews","tag-console","tag-hardware","tag-parenting","tag-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11620,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11615\/revisions\/11620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}