Android-powered OBox console unveiled at CES 2015

Chinese company Snail Game has debuted the OBox, an upgradable games console based on the Android operating system, at CES 2015.

Snail-Game-s-Android-console-the-OBox-is-being-pitched-at-99-up-to-499-Photo-AFP

Chinese company Snail Game has debuted the OBox, an upgradable games console based on the Android operating system, at CES 2015.

Snail Game (known as Snail Games in the US) made its fortune from a succession of browser-based and Massively Multiplayer Online games and has been expanding into hardware, showing off the portable W3D mobile device and the set-top OBox home console at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

With its name, rectangular form, and gamepads' shape not too dissimilar from Microsoft's recognizable Xbox, Snail Game's OBox boasts the Nvidia K1 chip as well as 3D and 4K video outputs.

Its internals are upgradable, which could make it easier for owners to swap in new parts when they become available, and buyers can choose from hard drive sizes from 500GB to 4TB, according to The Verge's findings, and an entry level price of $99 for the most basic model is being projected, going up to $499 for the heaviest loadout.
Tech specs also include WiFi, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and 3.0 as well as 3 HDMI ports and 4GB of RAM, notes SlashGear.

With a third quarter retail debut in North and Central America following on from its planned April - June launch window in China, Snail Game's OBox increases the choice of Android-powered, gaming-focused deployments, such as the Ouya, Mad Catz' MOJO, Google's Asus-built Nexus Player, and Amazon's Fire TV.