HP Vayu Set Top Box Aka Vayu Internet Device (VInD) - Internet TV In India

HP Vayu is the #-Link-Snipped-# of Internet to Indians. Given the prices of Desktop PCs, Laptops & tablets in India; it's no wonder that many Indians prefer to access Internet via mobile devices. Broadband penetration is rapidly growing and with Government taking initiatives with #-Link-Snipped-#, we surely know that Indians are going to adopt internet faster than ever before. HP India Labs has come up with an innovative device called Vayu Internet Device aka VInD. This mass Internet access device allows people to connect to the Internet using television sets and perform the basic operations using TV's remote control.


HP Vayu Internet Device

VInD aims to make the lives of older people easier by giving them a very simple to use interface. People are already familiar with the TV remote controls and all you need is an Internet connection. The Vayu Internet Device is yet to come out of HP India Labs but Times Of India got access to the device and have posted a detailed overview of it. Prith Banerjee  who heads HP India's research labs says that VInD is one of the most fascinating devices developed by HP in India and it's very promising. The company is yet to take a call on how and when to bring the device to the markets. Here's a summary of the review done by TOI -

HP's designed Vayu in such a way that it will work with both regular and high-end, HD LCD/LED TVs. There's a 'Task Genie' that stores all the apps and various operations can be performed on the apps with the help of remote control. The installed apps include stock prices, weather report, train status information etc. The 'Web Tuner' will allow users to categorize for the websites. For example Tech/Engineering News category can accommodate CrazyEngineers.  The 'Library' feature will enable users to store photos, videos and documents. 'Mobile Phone Pairing' will allow pairing of mobile devices with the Vayu Internet Device. So if Vayu is paired with your son's mobile, he can send text messages directly to Vayu which will then be displayed on the TV screen.

Other nice additions include "Zigbee" sensor which allows you to monitor items for physical movement. So you can easily connect your Vayu with your Jewel Box and monitor it when you're not at home. VInD runs on Linux operating system and comes with regular keyboard and mouse which allows its use as a regular PC.

The part that will appeal to Indian consumers the most is the price of Vayu Internet Device. HP says that the cost of components used in Vayu is about Rs. 5000 (~ $100). But the company is yet to decide the retail price of the device. We believe anything below Rs. 10,000 in India which offers all above mentioned functionality will definitely be a hit! Remember that the device is aimed at regular people who're new to computers and want an easy access solution. The crazy engineers like us can simply assemble a Linux based PC on our own for the same price. What say?