Syabas Introduces Popbox, Supports Netflix

Syabas has unveiled what it calls its first mass market settop box to the media attending the Consumer Electronic Expo. Popbox takes everything you like about Popcorn Hour and repackages it into a user friendly device.

Not only is the unit much smaller than the C-200 or even the A-110, the user interface has received a major overhaul. The menu now sports a sexy graphic based design and is broken down into video, music, photos and popapps. Yes apps will be available on the Popbox! Users will be able to view their Twitter account, Facebook status, even browse photos with Photobucket or check out the weather with Weatherbug.

Oh, and a little service known as Netflix will also be supported on Popbox. The well known DVD by mail service will be accessible on the soon to be released unit. Users will be not only be able to stream movies, but edit their queue from their TV.

Netflix makes its way to the Popbox

We got a look at Popbox and can say this device looks hot. The user interface is much improved, looking just as slick if not better than Apple TV. The menus were a bit slow but the device isn’t set to hit the market until March, so plenty of time for tweaking.

The Popbox does not come with a hard drive, nor can you place one inside the box. Instead users will have to use the USB 2.0 ports on the front of back of the unit to attach an external hard drive.

A quick look at the back of the Popbox shows support for component video, optical cable as well as SD card. Syabas tells us SD slot is only for software purposes.

The base model Popbox is expected to retail for $129 USD, $149 USD with built-in Wi-Fi. At this point Syabas says it will focus on the US, not to say it won’t work in other markets.

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