Nov 16, 2010 19:41 GMT  ·  By

Although it's been touted for quite some time now, it would seem that the development work on one of the world's first-ever Android-based HDTVs, the People of Lava Scandinavia “Window to the World”, is finally done, since the company has finally listed these advanced Internet TVs as being available for purchase (just in time for Christmas, we might add). The Scandinavia “Window to the World” is an Internet, multimedia TV that runs on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system, that, however, can be easily upgraded via the Internet, and provides out of the box access to a variety of applications, such as YouTube, Google Maps, Weather, Time, Calendar, Internet Browser, as well as a couple of free downloadable applications: Facebook, Twitter, Mail… (With more coming on App Store). The “Window to the World” model is available in several sizes (42, 47 and 55-inch versions), provides Full HD (1080p) resolution, attained with the help of the LED Backlit display, and also packs a SOPC100 (Cortex A8) processor running at 833MHz, responsible for the Internet browsing part. The devices in this range pack plenty of connectivity options, including PC RGB, CVBS, S-Video, Component, 3 HDMI, 2 Scart (DP Connector included) and USB slots, which are actually extremely important, since they can be used for attaching either a dongle for a wireless keyboard or other accessories, or a Wi-Fi USB module. The device also comes with an a built-in audio/video player that supports the MPEG4, H.264 HD (720p), 3GP video formats and MPEG-1 layers 1,2 and 3(MP3) audio formats, as well as a built-in Ethernet interface for connecting to the Internet. Unfortunately, as the Wall Street Journal reports, these things will be pretty expensive, the top-range 55-inch versions selling for around 40,000 Swedish Krona (or roughly $5,820), which is a tad much to pay, especially since the Google TV experience promises to be a superior one, at a lower price point.