by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
Another contender is jumping into the pretty crowded area of Web TV in a box. Popbox, from Fremont’s Syabas Technology, is a small black box that uses an Internet connection to stream videos and other content to a home’s TV.
This device — like the Roku, the Boxee Box, networked TVs… — appears to have many of the same content partners as everyone else: Netflix, BlipTV and Revision 3. There are also a bunch of widgets available, including Twitter, WeatherBug.
Here is Popbox’s full list of content options. The box also can stream photos, videos and other media stored on computers in the home.
And possibly due to the fact that Syabas has facilities in China and Malaysia, its partner list includes CCTV “the largest media content and television programer (sic) in China,” and MalaysiaKini: Streaming video Malaysian news and views.
When asked if it had any content partners that no one else had, the company said it was too hard to say since everyone is getting new partners all the time.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see what is exactly in the Popbox when it becomes available at the end of March 2010. The box plus software is $130 with no subscription fee to maintain (other than separate fees charged by content partners). A box with Wi-Fi will be $149.
Consumer Electronics Show 2010 with The GadgetressFor more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010.
