Those of you following our gadgetry coverage may remember Gear Patrol’s review of the robust media streaming beast known as the Popcorn Hour A-110 earlier in the fall. While our thoughts were undoubtedly positive, one caveat we did mention was that its infinite hackability and functionality did come at the cost of ease of use for any non-supernerd.
So, as if to answer our calls along with those of a variety of other tech reviewers, Syabas (which manufacturers the Popcorn Hour) announced today that a new device, dubbed The Popbox, will soon be released which is designed to provide similar levels of media streaming power in a far more consumer-friendly package.
Touting a much smaller and fanless case design great for keeping things quiet, while still including 2 USB ports, 1080p video playback over HDMI, and an SD card slot for storage, on specs alone the Popbox looks like a winner in our books.
Did we mention that it’s also supposed to retail for $130, and now includes previously missing core compatibility with online channels like Netflix, Facebook, and Twitter, along with a totally revamped and sleek user interface?
Throw that on the pile and, barring some major usability breakdowns, this might be game, set, match, for which device will soon reign supreme in the world of media streamers. At least for now.
We’ll be sure to follow up with more details though once this hits shelves. Special thanks to Dan Nosowitz over at Gizmodo for the heads up. Also for shots of the remote and a look at the new interface, hit the jump.
Cost: $130 (Estimated)
