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Rikomagic MK902II

24-AUG-2014

I have been very happy with my Rikomagic MK902 - so happy in fact that I immediately ordered the improved "Mark II" model once it became available. Today I got it and it is living up to my expectations.

The device itself looks exactly like the old one with the exception of a small "II" added to the logo. This time they have managed to squeeze everything into an even smaller box than before and this time the box also includes a very simple IR remote control mainly for controlling media players (play, pause, stop...) The power supply is the same as before and the power cord is just as short as before.

The improved model is identical to the old one except for three components that have been upgraded:

  • CPU has been upgraded from a Rockchip 3188 to 3288
  • WiFi has been upgraded from single band to dual band (2.4/5 GHz)
  • Ethernet has been upgraded from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps

And then there is one feature that has been removed: there is no longer an integrated video camera. The integrated camera came in handy for video conferences and Skype video calls so it is a shame this has been removed. There is a small lens at the same place that the camera used to be but in the II model it is an IR receiver window - this is probably the reason why so many blog posts and "reviews" about the new II device incorrectly claims it contains a camera.

The Ethernet and WiFi improvements are pretty straight forward, but the CPU upgrade is interesting. As far as model numbers goes, the 3188 to 3288 change might not seem like much but it is. When it comes to clock frequenzies the changes are minor aswell, the old one running at 1.6 GHz and the new one at 1.8 GHz. But then it comes to CPU core designs, there are major changes: they are both quad core CPUs but while the 3188 used ARM Cortex A9 cores (a design from 2007), the 3288 uses the Cortex A17 (an ARM design from 2014). And the change to the integrated graphics unit (GPU) is at least as major. Both processors houses four GPUs but while the old one used Mali-400 cores (ARM's simplest model), the new one uses Mali-T764 cores that are - at the time of writing - ARMs most advanced GPUs.

Unlike the original, this one comes with modified launcher, the Rikomagic launcher that gives you a "big screen" user interface more suitable for use on a TV in a living room than the default Android launcher. The "Mark II" also comes with XBMC pre installed.

All in all, the Mark II is about three times as powerful as the original MK902. And the original MK902 was pretty powerful as well. According to AnTuTu Benchmark v5.0:

MK902 Overall: 22 823

MK902 II Overall: 37 356

The 3D graphics test is difficult to compare since the original MK902 is running at 1280x720 while the Mark II runns at Full HD 1920x1080. But even though the Mark II is running at a much higher resolution it still beats the old one significantly in 3D performance: 11 421 to 3438.

The box includes:

  • The MK902II device itself
  • Power supply (European model is 2,5A)
  • Simple remote control
  • HDMI cable
  • That hard to find USB-A to USB-A cable necessary for firmware upgrades
  • A composite A/V video/audio cable
  • User Manual

Yes, the package actually includes a real printed (!) paper (!) manual in color (!). And it even includes usefull things like a screenshot of Ricomagics launcher and instructions on how to switch to a "pure Android launcher".