Boxee Box coming Q2 2010

Today Boxee held an event where it made two big announcements: the Boxee Box and the beta of the software. We already knew that the event would feature these two announcements, but now we’re able to actually see them. The results look to be quite impressive, especially coming from an open-source platform that started about a year and a half ago.

The Boxee Box will be built by D-Link, and is set to be released in the second quarter of 2010. The box looks to have an HDMI output, 2 USB ports, SD card slot, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. The Boxee Box certainly looks distinctive, and will definitely stand out among other boxes connected to your TV. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is a personal decision, though the box will have Boxee, which should make up for the appearance. The $200 price tag doesn’t hurt either, considering any PC bought to run Boxee will cost at least that.

With The Boxee Box announcement, also comes the announcement of the Boxee beta. The beta will make the software much easier to use for those who just want to start watching or listening right away, rather than having to wade through menus. The App Box will also be much improved, with users being able to sort through apps based on their popularity among other users. There’s also some improved back-end for Windows users. Boxee has switched from OpenGl to DirectX on Windows, which will allow the software to run much faster, and show 1080p content without stressing the CPU too much. The beta will officially launch on January 7 at CES.

Read [Boxee Blog] Via [Gizmodo]