A company that is offering television fans free access to a 55-inch smart TV that is subsidized through advertisements has started shipping its first batch of the new device. On Thursday, executives at Telly said it is still on track to ship 500,000 of its smart TV sets across the country and has selected a “diverse cross-section of the U.S. population” to be among the first to get them. Telly didn’t say how many of the smart TV sets were shipping this week, nor did it reveal the approximate locations of those first lucky customers. Image: Telly The Telly device contains a main 55-inch screen that will allow television watchers to stream content from a supplied Android TV dongle or a different device like a Roku, Amazon Fire TV stick, or game console. A sound bar located directly below the main screen includes a six-driver system that is engineered by Harman Kardon, and just below that is a supplemental screen that will include advertisements. In a statement, Telly CEO Ilya Pozin said: .stk-b91c4ff{box-shadow:0 0 0 2px rgba(120,120,120,0.1) !important}.stk-b91c4ff-container{background-color:#f3f3f3 !important}.stk-b91c4ff-container:before{background-color:#f3f3f3 !important} .stk-fff85bd{margin-left:-20px !important}.stk-fff85bd .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child{opacity:0.7 !important}.stk-fff85bd .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child,.stk-fff85bd .stk–svg-wrapper .stk–inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g,path,rect,polygon,ellipse){fill:var(–stk-global-color-56583,#911d9c) !important} .stk-75422ff{margin-left:-17px !important}.stk-75422ff .stk-block-text__text{font-size:16px !important;font-weight:300 !important;font-style:normal !important;font-family:”Golos Text”,Sans-serif !important}@media screen and (max-width:1023px){.stk-75422ff .stk-block-text__text{font-size:16px !important}}“Our disruptive ad-supported business model makes the television completely free to consumers, but the most exciting thing about Telly is the technology that enables our dual-screen television to get better with every update. We can’t wait for customers to see what a truly smart…Telly begins shipping its first batch of free TV sets