Tronsmart MK908II Review

Every now and then a good thing gets better. When we did our Tronsmart MK908 review, we raved about the  capabilities of this little Android PC. We’ve heard some users which have had limited Wi-Fi reception using Android PC’s in general, which is why we were impressed when we tested the dual Wi-Fi antenna capabilities of the original MK908. Now, Tronsmart has upped the ante with a powerful external Wi-Fi antenna to get even better reception. We give you the scoop with our Tronsmart MK908II review.

Specifications

• Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 CPU running at 1.6Ghz
• Quad Core Mali-400 GPU
• Google Android 4.2 OS
• 2GB DDR3 + 8G NAND Flash
• Supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Supports expanded antenna for Wi-Fi

The specs play out exactly like the original MK908 with two exceptions: The MK908 II comes with Android 4.2 standard, and the previously mentioned external Wi-Fi antenna. Operation and setup should be exactly the same as the previous model.

Unboxing

One thing we did notice with this unit is that the packaging is not nearly as slick as the original Tronsmart MK908. This is a minor point, of course, but it was still nice to see a manufacturer put that much effort into the presentation. It makes a good first impression for the customer.

The included accessories are still the same: USB power adapter, USB cable and HDMI extender cable. The documentation is limited, so don’t expect much in the way of printed material.

Wi-Fi Performance

The external antenna really does help when connecting to a basic router. On a higher-end model with multiple high-gain antennas, the impact is less obvious. Our test router are the Asus RT-N66U router and the Netgear N150 router. The Asus has a very good setup with three high-gain antennae, so it has a very good range. The Netgear is a more mainstream, budget router with only two antennae. This is normally where we run into some issues with connectivity with various devices. The original MK908 was able to connect with the Netgear router, but it did have a slightly weak signal. The new MK908II is a definite improvement on this and gave much better network performance.

The Verdict

When you try to improve on an already good product, it is never a sure thing. Sometimes the tweaks backfire and you end up creating a mess: See Windows ME/Vista. This Tronsmart MK908II review proved to us that they avoided that with the MK908II. They took a good Android PC device and made it better and  more usable by improving the wireless reception. A win overall!