Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Popbox launch at CES Unveiled on Jan. 5th

We are very excited to see the response to our CES Unveiled it was an outstanding event. We are all tired and losing our voices. We have a day to rest before our nonstop meetings at our Hilton Suite at CES starting on Thursday morning bright and early.

A couple of the posts that we like are below.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/syabas-popbox-hands-on

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/popbox-is-popcorn-hour-evolved-with-1080p-streaming-and-netflix

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/01/syabas-popbox-media-streamer-looks-great/

Some of the quotes form the press with links below


Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat named the Popbox a winner in his roundup of winners and losers from CES Unveiled


Aaron Barr of Marketing Daily included Popbox in a CES roundup saying, “[…] 2010 may be the year in which Internet-connected television finally breaks through. Companies such as D-Link/Boxee and Popbox were already displaying their wares -- which allow for Internet- and home-networked video to be displayed on televisions[…]”


Darren Murph of Engadget said, “We were able to swing by and take a look at the product [Popbox] tonight, and we've got to confess -- it'd be a pretty stellar add to any home entertainment setup. The box was small, light and stylish enough, and the actual user interface was drop-dead simple to navigate.”


Rachel King of ZDNet noted that she thought most of the buzz from CES would come from e-book readers and tablets, but after seeing the Popbox and the Boxee Box, changed her tune, saying, “E-book readers and tablets are being pegged as the top gadget developments of the year, but maybe there’s room for more buzz in the set-top box arena, with the upcoming release of the Boxee Box and now this [Popbox].”


Lee Bains of Switched said, “Heading into this year's CES, we all speculated that we'd see a lot of variations on 3-D TV and streaming TV. In the Popbox, Syabas has brought the latter to our attention in full force. The Swiss Army knife of streamers, the Popbox can pull HD video, CD-quality audio, and even your buddy's Twitter feed from off the Internet and into your living room[…]”

1/6/2010: Popbox HD hopes to simplify streaming content – CNET

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10426722-269.html

1/6/2010: Popcorn Hour Introduces the Popbox – AV Club House

http://www.avclubhouse.com/2010/01/06/popbox/

1/6/2010: Syabas introduces consumer-oriented Popbox media player – Krunker

http://www.krunker.com/2010/01/06/syabas-introduces-consumer-oriented-popbox-media-player/

1/6/2010: Winners and losers at CES opening reception: Popbox, Inada human “glove” chair, more – VentureBeat

http://venturebeat.com/2010/01/06/more-losers-and-winners-at-the-consumer-electronics-show-opening-reception-photos/

1/6/2010: At The CES: Waiting For The Other Shoe To DropMarketing Daily

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=120120

1/6/2010: CES 2010, Day 0 Summary – Zatz Not Funny

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2010-01/ces-2010-day-0-summary/

1/5/2010: Popcorn Hour Has New Media Streamer – the popbox – GeekTonic

http://www.geektonic.com/2010/01/popcorn-hour-has-new-media-streamer.html

1/5/2010: Syabas Popbox hands-on – Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/syabas-popbox-hands-on/=

1/5/2010: Syabas Introduces Popbox, Supports Netflix – The Review Crew

http://www.thereviewcrew.com/news/syabas-introduces-popbox-supports-netflix

1/5/2010: Popbox settop box unveiled – WesleyTech.com

http://wesleytech.com/popbox-settop-box-unveiled/1855/

1/5/2010: CES 2010: Sybas Announces $129 Popcorn Hour Successor – Small Net Builder

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/ces-2010/31032-ces-2010-sybas-announces-129-popcorn-hour-successor

1/5/2010: Syabas Popbox Digital Media Streamer – Gear Patrol

http://gearpatrol.com/blog/2010/01/05/syabas-popbox-digital-media-streamer/

1/5/2010: Syabas unveils open-platform Popbox, streaming movies and social media for $129 – ZDNet

http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=10492

1/5/2010: Popcorn Hour PopBox: hands-on snaps – Electricpig.co.uk

http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2010/01/06/popcorn-hour-popbox-hands-on-snaps/

1/5/2010: CES Unveiled: A First Look at the Tech of 2010 – Switched

http://www.switched.com/2010/01/05/ces-unveiled-a-first-look-at-the-tech-of-2010-6/

1/5/2010: Syabas Unveils the Popbox HD Network Media Adapter – eHomeUpgrade

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2010/01/05/syabas-unveils-the-popbox-hd-network-media-adapter/

1/5/2010: Syabas' Popbox Media Streamer Looks Great – Gizmodo

http://gizmodo.com/5440990/syabas-popbox-media-streamer-looks-great

1/5/2010: Popbox Set-Top Box Challenges Roku, Boxee – XBIZ Newswire

http://www.xbiznewswire.com/view.php?id=116177

1/5/2010: $129 Popbox Aggregates Online Content, Streams Media from Home Network – CE Pro

http://www.cepro.com/article/129_popbox_aggregates_online_content_streams_media_from_home_network/

1/5/2010: Network connected Popbox brings 20 web services to your TV – Pocket-Lint

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/30501/sybas-technology-launches-popbox-set-top-box

1/5/2010: Syabas Launches $129 "Popbox" OTT Device – Interactive TV Today

URL: http://www.itvt.com/story/6305/syabas-launches-129-popbox-ott-device

1/5/2010: Syabas Unveils Popbox For Retail – TWICE

http://www.twice.com/article/442390-Syabas_Unveils_Popbox_For_Retail.php

1/4/2010: Popbox Media Streamer – HDTV Reviews

http://www.hdtvlounge.net/news/syabas-popbox/



Come check it out at http://www.popbox.com/

6 comments:

chain said...

Do you have any feedback for those loyal customers who bought the C200, and still have had several critical features (e.g. GigE) not work as advertised ? Bit cheeky to be smug about releasing a new product when the previous one which is 3 months old still doesn't work properly.

In addition, a smack in the face to those loyal customers who bought C200's to not back-port the interface and functionality.

chain said...

Still no response, after a week. Typical of Syabas.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chain,
I believe the issues are being address and we are working on a new UI for the Popcorn Hour so please remain patience. Would you be interested in being a tester for the new C-200 UI?

HDTV Lounge said...

Hi,

The new Popbox looks great. I'm sure it will be very popular.

The new UI looks great, a major upgrade.

I would be very interested in being a tester for the new C-200 UI.

webmaster[a.t]hdtvlounge.net

Thanks

chain said...

I think clear clarification that the new interfaces and features will be back-ported to the C200 would have been a good ideaat the outset, and not as an after thought. Much angst could have been avoided with a clear, frank discussion along the lines of "We at Syabas are launching new products, but to those C200 users, rest assured, you will be seeing the same benefits and features".

This is in the context of a box that isn't more than 3 months out in the field. I don't think anyone expects to see things that are not possible on the A100/110 due to hardware limitations.

But key thing to remember is that Popcorn Hour has as many users and fans as it does because
1. the boxes are supposedly regularly updated and 2. they do the basics very well.

If you've lost customers, its because
1. There is no clear communication about when firmware will be released and what it fixes and/or introduces - put this on the main web site, not in a discussion forum with a million entries
2. Fix the basic features that were promised, but still don't work

That will make everyone happier!

PS. Yes, I'd love to try out the new UI. But give everyone that opportunity :-)

Alex said...

Hi Chain,
We are launching a new UI for the C-200 and the just announced A-200. The UI is different than the POPBOX. Actually more flexible. We believe you will be pleased especially when the third parties get rolling.