The Popbox ($130) media streamer has finally arrived… amidst reports of firmware issues. And we’ve got one. Tom, who reviewed the WDTV Live for ZNF, kept his pre-order in play despite these early reports and despite Syabas conceding there’s no imminent Netflix playback. Over the next few weeks he’ll put the box through its paces and share his experiences.
In the interim, check out a few Popbox unboxing photos. Tom prefers the integrated component connectivity versus the breakout cable design used by the WDTV line. Additionally, he was pleased to see an bundled HDMI cable – again, unlike the WDTV. I appreciate the more sleek and sophisticated looking remote than found with other devices in this price range.
On the other end of the spectrum, Syabas has made an interesting design decision in allowing the user to manage local storage. The Popbox ships with a 2GB SD card, which is used for writing movie metadata and storing PopApps. Unfortunately, the card isn’t shipped pre-installed and, ironically, early customers who followed the Quick Setup guide may have found themselves in a bad place. Bottom line: Insert the SD card before you do anything else.
Click to enlarge:
