Television manufacturer Vu has entered into an exclusive tie up with Flipkart to launch 7 new smart TVs ranging from Rs 20,000 for ‘Play’ smart TVs and Rs 120,000 for ‘Iconium’ smart TVs. Five of these TVs sport 4K screens and have a Netflix and YouTube button on the remote, while the other two have 1080p screens and are preloaded with apps like YouTube. The buttons on the remote open the respective apps directly. However, it looks like none of these new TVs run Google recommended Android as there seem to be quite a few user complaints about the lack of Google Play, limiting the number of apps users can install after buying the TV. Additionally, the two basic 1080p models don’t sport the Netflix app as a default, requiring users to sideload it. Other than the lack of certain preloaded apps and the Netflix & YouTube button, the two 1080p models and the five 4k models have similar features and only vary in size (up to 65”). Interestingly, Vu mentions that its 43” TV, priced at Rs 43,000, will come preloaded with gesture control features and games like badminton, baseball, bowling, tennis, golf, whack-a-mole etc. The company did not provide details about what other apps come preinstalled on its devices. Platform specific buttons: Vu’s idea to put in buttons for Netflix and YouTube is not new. Back in 2010, Tata Docomo introduced co-branded handsets from Alcatel along with buttons to launch Yahoo services. In 2011, Facebook & Vodafone launched…
