Op3r

I found gonz’s tweet about the smart’s press release on surftv. Here’s the gist of the press release:

Smart Bro SurfTV is a device that connects to a television set through a quick and easy procedure, to provide Internet access using Smart Bro’s nationwide coverage. When plugged into the RCA port of a color TV set, Smart Bro SurfTV provides users a ready-to-run Internet experience, and users can surf, chat, and email –- through a multi-tasking TV — at home.
“Over the last few years we have been steadily advancing our Internet for All advocacy and investing our energies to make wireless Internet more affordable and widely available – whether via mobile phone, the PC, or laptop – anytime, anywhere, so that Filipinos may benefit from it. Offering Smart Bro SurfTV is a natural progression of that strategy, this is a service that will put the Internet right in the homes of Filipino families,” said Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of SMART.

Internet in all homes
Smart Bro SurfTV comes in a boxed set complete with a keyboard, a mouse, a remote control, and a Smart Bro USB stick-type modem with a prepaid SIM, pre-loaded with PhP100 worth of load. The entire kit costs only PhP4,500, and Internet access costs only PhP10 for every 30 minutes. Load for the prepaid Smart Bro SIM is available through any of SMART’s network of over a million Smart Load sellers all over the country.

“Limited access to devices such as desktops computers used to be a barrier to bringing the benefits of the Internet to Filipinos. Even basic desktop computers are still priced beyond what most households can afford. This is what we hope to address through Smart Bro SurfTV. With this service, people can access the Internet using a low-cost device and an appliance they already have,” said Danilo J. Mojica, head of SMART’s Wireless Consumer Division.

I find it interesting because I used to read about the webtv. It went bust during the dotcom burst I think.

Anyhow this is a cool idea. I don’t know much about the specs yet but I hope this runs on linux. And yes I hope their network can accomodate the traffic.

By the way the price is PHP 4,500 pesos (about $100 usd)

from smart press release