Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced in July that it has developed a smart TV operating system and will be coming up with smart TVs, set-top boxes and services to run inside them in collaboration with various partners.
The first product in the pipeline was to be a set-top box from digital media firm Wasu Media, which has 8 million registered users and is installed on over 23 million devices. Called the Wasu Rainbow, it will connect TVs to the Internet and provide a host of Alibaba services which are planned for the future.
The Wasu Rainbow has gone on sale today on daily deals site Juhuasuan, which is run under the Taobao brand by Alibaba, as Sina Tech notes. It is retailing at CNY298 ($49) for a limited period, a discount of CNY100 ($16) from the usual price of CNY398 ($65).
This lays the ground for the company’s next step — Alibaba-powered smart TVs. Indeed, manufacturing partner Skyworth will be holding an event tomorrow that is likely to see it unveil the TV, Sina Tech reports.
Headline image via AFP/Getty Images
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