You can reserve your free 55-inch ad-supported TV from Telly now, to ship later this year

Earlier this month we reported on rumors about a startup company that planned to offer a free television to consumers in the US that would be supported by ads shown on a second screen. Now that startup has officially revealed itself and has started taking reservations from the public for that free TV.

The company is now officially called Telly, and its website is live with renders of that 55-inch free TV. The second screen is located at the bottom of the device, below a sound bar. The site says:

Telly’s integrated Smart Screen will bring new experiences to your living room like video calling, instant news and sports updates, video games, a fitness studio and so much more. And, it only gets smarter over time with frequent meaningful updates unlocking even more of its power.

However, it mentions the "ad" part at the bottom of the site, pointing out that other streaming TV operating systems like Roku and Amazon Fire TV already run ads:

Now, all smart TVs come with ads. But you still pay for the TV. All of that changes today. During the signup process we ask questions about you and your household to optimize your ad experience. Brands in turn, pay for the non-intrusive ad on the Smart Screen. That’s how you get Telly free. Plain and simple. It's time you got cut in on the deal.

The sign up process includes downloading a mobile app on iOS and Android to complete the profile process.

There's very little on the tech specs of the free Telly TV on the site, other than the main screen is a 55-inch 4K HDR display, and that the sound bar has five drivers. In a Deadline article about Telly, we do get some more info, including that it will have three HDMI ports, and that an Android TV-based streaming stick will be bundled with the TV to be placed in one of the ports. However, the consumer is free to get their own streaming stick or box to connect to the free Telly TV. The Verge adds that the TV's onboard camera does come with a privacy shutter, and it will ship to users closed, so they don't have to use it.

The article also mentions that the second screen could go dark if a movie is being played on the main screen, so it sounds like it won't be a constant presence. The plan is to ship 500,000 units of the free Telly TV later this year, and the founders of Telly claim that this device would normally sell for over $1,000 at retail stores. There are future plans to release other models with larger screens.