SmartBro Surf TV is Smart’s attempt to create a market from those who cannot still afford to buy a brand new PC.
Very few Filipino households have a PC at home. The numbers could be in the range of 1.5 – 2 million households so there’s a huge opportunity to sell more.
The box contains an embedded processor that connects to a SmartBro Plug-it via USB and broadcasts the video to a monitor or a TV. As such, it has a number of limitations:
- No internal storage. Saving files may be made via an external storage like a Flash drive or an external HDD.
- The built-in browser is Opera but there are no installed plugins so Flash is not supported.
- Supported display resolution is low and probably just 800×600 pixels.
- The over-all system performance seems a bit slow.
Smart is offering the Surf TV for about Php4,500 which includes the box, keyboard, mouse, remote and the SmartBro Plug-it. If you break it down per item, the box alone might cost about Php3,500 (since the 3G dongle is around Php1k).
On the other hand, Surf TV offers some benefits:
- Portability. It’s small and lightweight and does not take a lot of space compared to a full-blown desktop PC.
- Low power consumption. Haven’t really figured out how much electricity the box consumes but my guess is that it’s close or even lower than the usual netbook which is 30 to 40 watts per hour (power consumption of a dekstop PC could be around 250 to 500 watts per hour).
- No additional acquisition costs like software licenses, etc.
The biggest debate here would be the cost-effectiveness of SmartBro Surf TV vs. a second-hand desktop PC at the Php3,500 price point. Indeed, the proliferation of old but dirt-cheap PCs from Japan and Korea has helped a lot of families own their first PC at home.
Smart Surf TV is, simply put, an internet appliance. Its sole purpose is for the user to be able to casually log on to the internet using an existing analog TV as a monitor and that’s it — plug it then surf and chat.
As such, this device is not for you if you have previously owned a computer or laptop — you will obviously look for the flexibility and choice.
In fact, I would go as far as saying “if you are reading this review, this device is probably not for you”. Unless you’re reading this from an internet cafe so that probably means you still don’t have a PC+internet set-up at home.
So, for which market segment is the Surf TV for?
My guess is that Smart is trying to penetrate that segment of the market that has never had the capacity to acquire a full desktop PC at home. That could be somewhere in the lower C, D or maybe even E market.
But then again, Surf TV is by no means a replacement to the PC. It’s a viable alternative, yes, but still a bit in the early development stage. I am told that they are doing a software update for this to optimize the software and hardware combo. There’s still a market for it though — those who are looking at affordable plug-and-play connectivity solutions (most of us, including myself, just can’t appreciate it because we’re not the target market).
The logic behind this move is pretty obvious — higher PC density, bigger demand for connectivity.
Disclosure: Smart/PLDT is an advertiser on this blog.
If you can afford this, you definitely can afford a pc.
I have a terrible experience with Smart Bro. It crawls so slowly, it almost seems like I’m not connected at all. I’ve tried different times of the day and different days. Awful. It’s basically useless. I need a refund for this one.
Read about my Smart Bro horror stories before you even think about buying a kit! I might just save you money.
SMART should issue a “Refund Policy” on this one.
[...] full review of SmartBro Surf TV. AKPC_IDS += "630,";Popularity: unranked [...]
hay pmatay ung iba…
tama bang mginstlL ng Plants vs. Zombies
hay nako po…
i think buying a secondhand P4 PC+Smart Bro would be better.
hay naku! andami nyong reklamo! kung hindi kayo bibili, di wag! wag na kayong manira pa! kaya nga hindi umaasenso ang pilipinas dahil sa mga ugali nyo! crab mentality!
Twitter: yizhantech
says:
I made several speedtest for smart bro’s plug it modem from Cavite to Rizal, it was posted on my blog. I think they have very poor service in Cavite and pasig area. Grabe sa Cavite, sa tabi lang ata ng PLDT cell site mabilis..
This product is really pointless… First, it uses a “plug-it” modem which sucks even plugged into a pc. Second, its better to go to a computer shop for the same price per hour (P20). And lastly, it doesn’t worth its price (P4,500).
another crappy product. At that price you can get a brand new atom desktop PC. This is worthless if you buy it. You won’t be able to resell it for a thousand pesos. Nobody will ever buy it.
Yeah. Smart did have a little… err… a lot of short comings to this new product. It looks like a complete waste to people who enjoys surfing for themselves. A lot of comments I’ve seen here are self-centered. Yeah. Crab-shit mentallity. First, market? Not for wealthy know-it-all people. But what about rolling education caravans? Getting poor people more educated about internet? For some people, INTERNET = PORN * GAMES also equals to DYING BRAIN CELLS. Second, Smart Bro is really x 10 useless. Try surfing when raining. But since the unit is outfitted with RJ-45(Ethernet) port, then it might be worthwhile. 3rd, more clones, lesser price. 4th. Yeah, it really sucks surfing the net throuh CRT screens. 5th. For SMART, back to the schematics board. 6th. Is the ISP locked to SMART only? maybe you could use wired connection (DSL) from other carriers? EX. GLOBE 995 wired + SurfTV.
Hindi advisable ito kahit kanino. Sana nag introduce nalang sila ng media center devices like Boxee.
Twitter: enadnaitsirhc
says:
if i were to choose between smart surf tv and a pc with internet connecion, i’d still choose the latter. btw, do you happen to know why sometimes im being redirected to the smartbro portal
UPC- USELESS PIECE OF CRAP.
You’re right, even the target market of this product wouldn’t see it as a sulit buy.
IGNORE!
Meron ba itong twitter…?
Bibili ako nito..Wala kasi sa bundok ng Mindoro ng ganito…
I don’t like this. Imagine na lang gaano ka kalapit sa monitor ng TV mo pag gagamit ka nito. It is not even advisable to kids to use this. For sure magkaka diperensya mga mata nila.
Cherry Mobile Triple Sim
i love it
Sna nga po maayos nila ang site ng smartbro-ks syang nmn po ung mga nkabili na tpos d nmn pla mggamit…
sna maawa nmn ang smart center.. ks d mdling mkhanap ng gnung klaking halaga tpos useless lang pla.
thanks u!
ok din naman siguro siya kung more on facebook lang. pero kung heavy surfer ka hindi siguro ito fit.
They should have at least included Java support, and MythTV in it. That will make it better.
Ano na po ang update dito sa surf TV nag progress po ba ito?.
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