The wait for Boxee's long-awaited box just got longer.
The software maker had hoped to unveil its branded set-top box this month, in partnership with D-Link, but announced in a blog post that the box wouldn't arrive until the fourth quarter--just in time to run into Google TV, which, with its deep pockets, partnerships with some of the industry's top players and a boatload of consumer recognition could spell serious trouble for a Boxee Box.
"The original plan was to have the Box out by the end of Q2, but that time-frame proved overly ambitious," CEO Avner Ronen blogged.
Be that as it may, Boxee will be entering a densely-packed hybrid STB market with entries including Roku, Western Digital, and a number of other players like Xbox, PS3, Wii and Google.
The company also has a $200 price tag on the box, double that of Roku, but in line with most other offerings.
The company did score a win this week, though, announcing it would license Sonic Solutions' RoxioNow to supply premium content through its web-to-TV app to an array of devices including STBs, mobile devices and TVs.
"RoxioNow offers a comprehensive solution that will enable users to access premium entertainment services instantly through Boxee," said Ronen. "With RoxioNow-powered digital entertainment services, we continue our efforts to expand the variety of premium content we can stream instantly to anyone with a broadband connection."
For more:
- see this Wall Street Journal article
- see this release
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