To Smart TV or not to Smart TV, that is the question.  Or at least that was the question on consumers’ minds this holiday when many a retailer slashed pricing on just about every big screen TV under the sun.  Well folks, Roku is looking to negate that part of the purchase decision process.  Come this fall the company behind the Roku boxes will introduce the Roku Streaming Stick.

As you’ve no doubt sussed out, it is the same tech that is found in their boxes, yet this device weighs (and measures) in at about the size of a USB stick.  However, don’t be fooled by its form factor, because it doesn’t plug into your TV’s USB port.  Instead it jacks into your set’s HDMI port.  But not just any HDMI port.  Your TV will need to sport something called an MHL-enabled HDMI port.  It’s a new standard that delivers power “and other critical elements” to whatever is plugged into it.  But with this new standard at hand, your TV’s remote should be fully compatible with Roku’s Streaming Stick, allowing you to change your TV’s volume and the Netflix movie with the same device.

Inside the diminutive sized device, Roku has managed to stuff in not only the necessary processor to stream content from the greats, such as Netflix and Pandora, but WiFi so you won’t have to worry about plugging in an Ethernet cord and running that sleek setup you’ve worked so hard to attain.  Insignia, Best Buy’s own TV brand, will be the first to package the Roku Streaming Stick in with a big screen TV, though it will be compatible with other brands, provided they meet they aforementioned spec.

Unfortunately, Roku is mum on price at this point (expect it to be $50-100), but we do know that it will hit retail shelves in the latter half of the year, closer to fall.

In addition to adding HBO Go to their list of channels, Roku today introduced the Roku LT. The LT might as well refers to light, as in a light price since it only costs $49.99, $10 cheaper than the model up. But all things relative (to other Roku players) you get what you pay for. This box caps streams at 720p, while their other higher end versions (XD and XS) can perform 1080p. However, they have still managed to squeeze in WiFi, an HDMI port and VGA connectivity for those still using a non-HD television.

The Roku LT will ship sometime this November and you’ll be able to grab it from Amazon and other major retailers.

On another note, we should point out that the LT can stream from sites such as Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Rdio, Cnet, Flickr and whole bunch more – 320 channels to be exact. It’s $10 cheaper than the Roku 2 HD, and from where we sit the only difference seems to be that the LT can’t play games and has a purple finish.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Who watches cable TV anymore? I don’t. In fact, if I didn’t already get it for free I’d cancel it immediately because I never watch it. Sure, that means no first viewings and no lucky daytime nostalgia through the boob tube, but most of those channels are useless anyways and it’s expensive. But to want to watch something on the big screen requires my laptop and a cadre of ugly wires in the living room. That’s why USB streaming is such a promising technology: it kills clutter, keeps laptops safely out of harm’s way, and still streams all of your video to the TV.

Warpia’s Stream HD does just that, and well.

The Stream HD is a simple two-USB dongle setup with a base that connects to your TV and a dongle for your laptop. Installation (on a CD…people still use those?) is quick and mostly painless, adding yet another icon to the taskbar. Once installed the USB dongle transmits your computer screen wirelessly to the connected screen at up to 1080p, assuming of course that you’ve got the juice for it.

Requirements for USB streaming are…strenuous, to say the least. For 720p video, Warpia recommends at least a dual core 1.8GHz CPU and 1GB of free RAM, and for full 1080p video 2.4GHz and 2GB. A Warpia spokesperson said dual core CPUs are recommended only so that other applications can run without error since video streaming only uses a single core, but laptops sold over the past 3-5 years have come with weak processors, opting for low-power and multiple cores instead of frequency. Netbooks and inexpensive laptops will have trouble with 720p video. For general web-browsing and using the TV as a secondary display, a 1.6GHz single core CPU and 512MB of RAM are recommended, and work just fine. But video on such a pathetic machine is a bobbleheaded mess.

I tested the Stream HD on several laptops, including an HP Elitebook (2.6GHz, 4GB RAM), a MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, 4GB RAM), and the new MacBook Air (1.8GHz, 4GB RAM). Warpia doesn’t formally support Mac OS, but the drivers are available and it does run. The HP laptop ran like a charm. Both 720p and 1080p video playback fast and smooth. The last-generation MacBook Pro did have some trouble with 1080p video playback, and washed out at 20fps instead of the customary 24fps for films, though after updating to newer (recently released) display drivers, it ran smoothly though depending on background applications there is some spillover.

I also tested running off Windows 7 through Parallels, though actually running Parallels slowed the computer down enough to make video choppy. While I didn’t reinstall Windows 7 using Boot Camp, there should be no lag, so Boot Campers should have no trouble even if their computers barely meet the requirements.

The MacBook Air was more trouble, thanks to it’s slower 1.8GHz processor. Even though it can turbo to 2.9GHz, video strained and was choppy, and battery life plummeted on the machine.

That said, I’m impressed with the setup of Warpia’s Stream HD system. It’s not difficult to use in any way: just plug the HDMI cable from the base into your TV (and optical if necessary to your sound system), plug the dongle into your laptop, and stream away. The software itself feels clunky, which feels like a problem with Windows because in OS X it just worked. The dongle does get surprisingly hot…it won’t scald you when you unplug it, but it’s hard to miss when a USB dongle could be used for Hot Potato.

Actual use is also promising thanks to the easy line-of-site requirement. That means you can’t stream from another room, and I’ve measured the cutoff point at about 20′ before video quality begins to suffer, though unless you’re trying to stream for a movie theater, that shouldn’t be a problem. My larger concern is actually the USB technology, because right now USB streaming doesn’t support use of the GPU, which is frankly terrible for streaming devices like the Stream HD. It limits so many laptops from streaming HD content. On my MacBook Air I can play 1080p video, no problem, but not streaming through USB. So for myself and tens of thousands of laptop owners, the Stream HD isn’t a feasible solution because their laptops use processors that are too weak to play the video, even though their laptops can with minimal stress. Furthermore, battery life drains significantly faster streaming via USB because of how CPU-heavy it is, instead of sharing resources and minimizing the power impact.

However, that’s all an aside, because USB streaming is a technology of convenience. It’s made to get rid of cables in the living room, make it easy and comfortable to watch TV from your computer on the TV, and not take forever to do so. In all of these things, the Warpia Stream HD does an excellent job. Now I leave the USB dongle on my coffee table for instant streaming of my favorite shows. Because seriously, who needs cable?

Pros:

• Simple, convenient, easy to use and setup. Post install, it’s literally plug and play.

Cons:

• Dongle gets very hot, very quickly
• Battery drain on lower-end machines is higher thanks to CPU stress

Ugly:

• USB streaming has severe limitations and heavy laptop requirements, but with today’s operating systems and hardware configurations, that likely won’t change

Vintage will never go out of style.  And that’s probably why Grace Digital’s newest radio, the The Victoria Nostalgic Internet Radio, combines the stylings of a 1940′s radio with the tech of today.

Under the hood are dual 4-inch speakers with rear ports for added bass.  While we’re a bit skeptical as to just how much bass this thing can kick out, let alone the sound quality, we’re really digging the fact that you can control Pandora using Grace Digital handy iOS application.  There is also a 4-line display, access to pretty much all the popular Internet radio services (Pandora, SiriusXM, Live365, MP3 Tunes, DAR.fm, Rhapsody, NPR, CBS Radio, etc), 5-alarms, a 24-hour sleep timer and an aux input for a CD player.  There is also a USB input for playing tunes from a hard drive or flash drive, and WiFi N for streaming tunes directly from your computer, though we’ve struggled in the past to make this feature work on other Grace Digital radios.

The The Victoria Nostalgic Internet Radio goes on sale any day now and will cost $229.99.  Expect it to be available at Best Buy, Amazon and other major retailers.  You can also buy it direct from Grace Digital.

4.5 out of 5 stars

I don’t care who you are, everybody needs music. It’s a necessity and without it life just wouldn’t be the same. But just how much your mind craves music will probably influence the level of investment you’re willing to make. I for one don’t regularly attend live music performances. But despite that I still enjoy finding new music and even listening to some of the main stream pop, hip hop and R&B that crosses our airwaves. So with that said, and with some apprehension, I invested in Spotify, the latest streaming music service to hit US shores.

Spotify as you may know, has long existed in the Europe. It has received rave reviews and buzz that is has even the most popular of tech startups drooling with envy.

So what makes Spotify what it is? The service provides access to over 13 million songs. If you’re one of the lucky few to already receive an invite to the free version of the service here in the US, then you know that you can stream any of these songs free of charge on your computer, provided of course you’re willing to cope with ads every once and a while. However, if you’re patience has grown thin, you can get Spotify today, that is if you’re willing to pay for the service.

They offer two paid versions: unlimited and premium. Unlimited costs $4.99 per month and allows you to access 13 millions songs on your computer commercial free. The Premium version costs $9.99 and in addition to a commercial free experience, it enables you to stream music, and download it, directly to a compatible handset or computer. Both paid versions, on any device, provide 320kb quality sound, where as the free version is limited to 160kb. The free version does not allow you to download music to your computer’s hard drive.

Update: Only Premium offers a higher audio bit rate and offline mode.  Thanks Pat.

Spotify’s selling point is not only the breadth of their catalog and price, but the fact that the service is extremely fast when it comes to finding and playing music.  The service is built upon a comparable technology to Bit Torrent and Skype, and by that I mean P2P.  Users of the service must launch an app on their computer to play music.  The app initially looks for the music stored locally and if it doesn’t find it there it makes a call to a server that finds it stored locally on other users’ computers.  This means that Spotify’s users do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to streaming and hence why they’re currently giving away unlimited streaming for 6 months to those that sign up and score an invite to the service, which just launched last month.  After that Spotify users will be limited to 10 hours of free streaming, unless of course they’re willing to pay.

COMPUTER APPLICATION

In order to access Spotify you’ll need to download their application.  While their logo leaves something to be desired, the UI is intuitive and easy to use. Searches are fast and speedy, and the music streams without any delay. Pretty damn impressive considering that amount of people probably already accessing the service. You can connect the app with your Facebook profile, which allows you to see which friends have done the same and share playlists amongst one and other. While the app’s homepage will show you new releases and a feed of information regarding news and friend’s playlists, it does not have a recommendation engine based on your tastes, much like Pandora (more on that later). It will, however, show you related artists and what your friends (via Facebook) are listening to.

You can connect your Spotify account with your Facebook account. This allows you to view friend’s public playlists as well as what they’re listening to. Useful if you often depend on your friends for new music, but you’ll need to click on each friend’s profile, located on the right of the app, to view their playlists and info.

Even though Spotify lacks a recommendation engine comparable to that of Last.fm or Pandora, you can view related artists. To do this you must enter an artists page. So if you search for say ‘Jack Johnson’, Spotify will present a variety of artists. You must click directly on his name to enter the artist page. Once on that page there are a few tabs that include ‘overview’, ‘biography’, ‘related artists’ and ‘artist radio’. The latter option allows you to see other artists, but we’re not sure how the differentiates from ‘related artists’.

There are a few bugs in the computer app.   For instance, I searched for “Spoon” and once I entered the artist’s page, each album appeared more than one time. Additionally, many fellow free users are reporting that the music intermittently stops. This hasn’t been a problem for me, but I’m also a paying user, so safe to assume my stream will take priority over another, not paying user.

THE IPHONE APPLICATION

Streaming music on the iPhone application, which requires you to pay $9.99 a month, is robust and intuitive to use. While it reflects a fair bit of the UI incorporated by the iPhone’s iPod player, it does boast its own spin to accommodate Spotify’s offering. For instance, you can locate a track and then explore the other songs on that album. It also allows you to “star” tracks and add them to a playlist, which is also available on the computer. You can also add tracks to an existing iTunes playlist. If you so choose, you can sync Spotify with your iTunes library, allowing you to access all your songs on the mobile app free of charge – you already own it so Spotify effectively becomes a cloud player.  You can sync over WiFi or connect your iPhone to your computer, though the first option is slow and tedious.

Streaming tunes over AT&T’s 3G service worked virtually flawlessly, though it significantly eats into the iPhone’s battery life. However, Spotify can work without an Internet connection. There is a switch (you must enable the option in the ‘settings’ menu) that allows you to enable “offline” mode. This mode downloads your “starred” tracks to the iPhone’s storage, letting you access the music without a connection. But don’t think for a second that you can subscribe to the service for one month, download all the tracks your heart desires and then discontinue your subscription. You must reconnect to Spotify every 30 days for those tracks to remain active, which is the same DRM we’ve seen instituted on other services, such as the now legal Napster and Rhapsody.

In terms of using the app it’s relatively straightforward. Unlike the iPhone’s iPod player, you can swipe the screen to skip tracks. Instead of a volume slider at the foot of the screen is the time lapse. To adjust volume you must use the iPhone’s volume rocker switch or enter the “info” screen. There is however one small flaw with the application. If you play a track, lock the iPhone’s screen and try to skip forward a song using the shortcut controls accessed by double tapping the home button, the music will stop playing. Annoying, but not a deal breaker.

With a bit of tinkering, I managed to discover a handy shortcut. Swipe your finger to the right across any track and it brings up a set of shortcuts, allowing you to add that song to your queue of playing music, add it to the general playlist, share the track with a friend or view the artist’s entire catalog available on Spotify.

Unfortunately, the iPhone app lacks a related artist tab.  In fact, it lacks all of those tabs that I mentioned in the computer app, which makes music discovery a bit more challenging on the iPhone app.  Also, the search can be a bit iffy at times.  Punching in “Cold Play” as opposed to “Coldplay” doesn’t bring up the well known band, but generally speaking it’s very accurate and find what you’re looking for.

Update: You don’t need to enable “offline mode” in the settings menu to download songs.  However, if you don’t want your phone to connect to the Internet, or if you’re on a plane, this is when you’d enable this option.

OTHER MUSIC SERVICES

Pandora and Spotify are to a large degree completely different beasts and if used together can provide a fulfilling experience. Pandora’s service randomly plays tunes based on an entered artist, genre or song. But, unlike Spotify you can’t play a specific track when ever you want. So what I’ve done, is utilized Pandora to find new music, bookmark the artist or song, and then explore more tracks based on that artist using Spotify.

Napster and Rhapsody have long offered a comparable service, but both ask a $5 premium ($14.99) over Spotify when it comes to their mobile version. Additionaly, Spotify claims 3 million more tracks, as to their relevance that still remains a question; the 3 million could be garage bands for all we know.  I haven’t used Napster or Rhapsody, at least not in recent, but I can only assume tracks don’t play as quickly since they don’t depend on any P2P tech.

Update: It’s not clear how large Spotify’s catalogue is.  I’ve read 15 million and 13 million.

iTunes and Amazon, which is probably the biggest competitors to Spotify just given the size of the services, is a different model.  In their case you’re buying the music where as with Spotify, relatively speaking, you’re renting it.  However, with iTunes and Amazon you can physically share your tracks with friends.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of Spotify is beyond impressive. As mentioned the streaming quality is limited to 160kb using the free or freeium service. But if your’e willing to invest $4.99 a month the quality improves a two fold to 320kb, though it’s questionable if one could discern the difference in quality beyond 256kb. But nonetheless, it’s CD quality sound in a streaming package.

Update: I was wrong,  Only the Premium option provides the higher bit rate.

CONCLUSION

What it really comes down to is whether you’re comfortable with not owning your music.  But as a society, at least in the US, we’re becoming more comfortable with not owning our media, hence the popularity of Netflix.  Sound quality is stellar, you can download your tracks, build playlists, share tracks and playlists with friends and listen to an almost unlimited amount of artists without throwing your money at any given one.  The apps are well built, they’re slick, fast and seem to work without any major hiccups.  Bottom line: If your’e already spending $10+ a month on music, get yourself a Premium Spotify account, you won’t regret it.

Pros:

• Seemless streaming without any delays
• Free for everyone with unlimited plays for the next 6 months; 10 hours after that
• iPhone app works almost flawless, plus it’s intuitive
• Can download tracks that last for 30 days provided you don’t reconnect to Spotify

Cons:

• Lacks a discovery engine like Pandora and those alike
• You don’t own the music
• iPhone app doesn’t show related artist or bio info

Starting today you’ll be able to enjoy the first 4 seasons of Mad Men streaming on Netflix.  We originally thought the show was arriving on April 27th, but it turns out we were wrong.  In fact we’re idiots, because we just didn’t read the original article correctly.  But no matter, because today has arrived and Don Draper and co are here to entertain you.

On another note, Netflix struck an International deal to bring CBS content to the popular streaming service in a variety of countries.  Earlier this month, Netflix announced that they’ll roll out their streaming service in a 43 countries including, but not limited to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean later this year.  Canadian subscribers, where the service most recently launched, will be able to enjoy this content this September.  The content will include the CW hit “90210,” as well as past seasons of critically lauded fan favorites from SHOWTIME such as “Californication,” “Dexter,” and “The United States of Tara.” Canadian members will also have access to a broad range of CBS library programming, including “Numb3rs,” “Sleeper Cell,” and “Twin Peaks.”

Netflix recently increased their pricing by as much as 60%.  It’s said that this additional revenue will help them expand into other countries as well as improve their library of streaming movies and tv shows.

CBS AND NETFLIX ANNOUNCE INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AGREEMENT FOR CANADIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN SUBSCRIBERS

NEW YORK and BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – July 27, 2011 – CBS Corporation [NYSE: CBS.A and CBS] and Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] today announced a two-year, non-exclusive international licensing agreement that will enable certain television shows from across CBS Corporation to be streamed instantly to Netflix subscribers in Canada and Latin America. The agreement follows a separate domestic deal announced between the two companies in February. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Beginning in September, and for only $7.99 a month, Netflix members in Canada will be able to enjoy both the current and complete back seasons for CW hit “90210,” as well as past seasons of critically lauded fan favorites from SHOWTIME such as “Californication,” “Dexter,” and “The United States of Tara.” Canadian members will also have access to a broad range of CBS library programming, including “Numb3rs,” “Sleeper Cell,” and “Twin Peaks.”

Netflix announced in early July that it would be launching in 43 countries across Mexico, South America and the Caribbean later this year. Under this new deal with CBS, previous seasons of series, including “90210,” “Medium,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Californication” and “Dexter,” will be available for Latin American members to watch instantly, as will a broad range of library titles, including the original “Star Trek,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Charmed,” and “Twin Peaks.”

“We are pleased to be partners with Netflix as they rollout their superb service to new markets,” said Armando Nunez, President, CBS Studios International. “This new arrangement-which does not compete with U.S. ratings or SHOWTIME’s domestic subscriber base-underscores the popularity of CBS content around the world, and illustrates yet another meaningful way for us to realize incremental value from our vast library of content.”

“We are delighted to be expanding our successful relationship with CBS to our newer markets in Canada and Latin America,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix. “We aim to provide the widest possible range of great TV shows so our members can always find something compelling to watch wherever and whenever they want.”

About CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and The CW – a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks and CBS College Sports Network), local television (CBS Television Stations), television production and syndication (CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), motion pictures (CBS Films) and sustainable media (EcoMedia). For more information, please visit www.cbscorporation.com.

About Netflix, Inc.
With more than 25 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows. For $7.99 a month, Netflix members in the U.S. and Canada instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies streaming over the Internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, Internet-connected TVs, home theater systems, digital video recorders and Internet video players; Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 200 devices that stream from Netflix are available in the U.S. and a growing number are available in Canada.

Roku is back baby, and this time it’s smaller, faster and more energy efficient.  The company’s first box just streamed Netflix.  But over the last few years they’ve added a variety of streaming content of the set top box which includes Pandora, Crackle, UFC, Foxnews.com and more.

The new boxes, which are available in three flavors – Roku 2 HD, Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS – sport a smaller footprint, use just 2 watts of power and get this, can now play video games.  They’ll continue to output 5.1-channel surround sound with compatible content.  The Roku 2 HD is limited to just 720p, while the XD and XS can playback full HD video.  However, all models are compatible with Roku’s gaming platform, which will launch with, what else, Angry Birds.  The game will ship for free with the XS model, the highest of the three, and will include a bluetooth, motion sensing gaming controller.  This model, unlike the other two, will also sport an Ethernet port for a wired connection and USB port for playing back media off any USB drive.   All models ship with built-in WiFi, though the lower tier ones will not include a free copy of Angry Birds or Roku’s gaming controller.

The Roku 2 HD, Roku XD and Roku XS will ship at the end of this month for $59.99, $79.99 and $99.99 respectively.

Read

Watching your favorite sports team can sometimes result in a wrestling match over who controls the remote control.  But alas, there is some relief in sight, thanks to a new WatchESPN application for the iPhone and iPad.  It lets you stream live ESPN broadcasts to your iOS devices, but there is a catch.  You’ll need to subscribe to one of these cable or Internet providers to gain access: Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, and Verizon.  Though for the latter provider, you’ll only have access to ESPN3 if you don’t subscribe to their TV access.  

When you fire up the app it will request your cable subscription credentials.  Without those and you won’t be able to view the streams.  We like this approach better than apps that require you to be on your home’s network, which we’ve seen in the past.  As of now the app isn’t optimized for the iPad, but you can expect that to arrive this May in the form of a free update.

Read

For some reason we just couldn’t sign on to Jon Hamm’s performance in “The Town”.  But no matter, because Mad Men, the AMC TV show, will soon stream on Netflix.  The first four seasons will start streaming on April 27th. The last 3 seasons will start streaming after each subsequent season of the show has aired on AMC – the fifth season is currently in production.  According to Variety, Netflix may have dropped $1 million an episode.

Read

While broadband data caps have yet to hit all service providers it is a growing concerns, especially amongst Canadians.  As a result, Netflix today announced that “watching movies and TV shows streaming from Netflix will use 2/3 less data on average, with minimal impact to video quality.”  In other words, CA Netflix users can watch 30 hours of streaming and only consume 9GB of data, compared to 70GB if it were all in HD.  Sure, the picture clairyt will be diminished, but Netflix says that quality will continue to be great, and if the customer so chooses they can opt to switch back to a higher bit rate, though at their own risk of paying overages on their bandwidth.

The three settings are as follows:

1. “Good” – The default setting with good picture quality and lowest data use per hour (about 0.3 GBytes/hour)
2. “Better” – Better picture quality and medium data use per hour (about 0.7 GBytes/hour)
3. “Best” – Best picture quality and highest date use per hour (generally about 1.0 GBytes/hour – or up to 2.3 GBytes/hour when streaming HD content)

It’s our best guess that Netflix has decided to test this feature in Canada since the customer base is probably relatively small compared to the US.  But in light of AT&T’s bandwidth caps on Uverse and DSL, which we recently told you about, we expect this feature to roll out State side in the some what near future.

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We can’t tell you how long we’ve been hearing that Apple will soon launch a cloud based music service.  But who cares, because Amazon just launched their own, and there is no reason not to try it out.

For free, as in $0, you’ll get 5GB of storage.  However, if you buy an MP3 album from Amazon’s MP3 store, you’ll automatically be upgraded to 20GB for one year.  Any future MP3 purchases from Amazon will automatically be stored to the cloud and won’t count against your storage capacity – makes sense since Amazon already owns and stores the music.

As of now, and strategically so, there is no official iPhone support, though the service will launch with an Android app called Cloud Player that allows you to buy and play music from the same app.  Mac and PC users can access tunes using Safari, IE, Firefox or Chrome, although we have yet to test if it works with the iPhone’s browser, Safari.  Sure, battery concerns will be at the forefront of everyone’s mobile mind, but if you’re on the road, in close proximity to a car charger it should be a non-issue, and shouldn’t be any more taxing than Pandora’s streaming app.

Files can be stored in either AAC or MP3 and they’ll retain their original bit rate upon upload.  Uploaded files should be downloadable again and transferable to any portable device that accepts the aforementioned formats.  But that’s not all.  Amazon’s cloud service can be used to store pictures, videos and really any digital file of your choosing.

As of now, Amazon’s hasn’t rolled out a tiered pricing plan, but based on the copyright on the site, we’re guessing that they’ll eventually roll out an option for increased space at a cost.  Keep in mind that the free 20GB only lasts for up to one year from purchase date.

Introducing Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android
Buy anywhere, play anywhere and keep all your music in one place
Start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage – upgrade to 20 GB free with purchase of any MP3 album

SEATTLE, Mar 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the launch of Amazon Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive), Amazon Cloud Player for Web (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer) and Amazon Cloud Player for Android (www.amazon.com/cloudplayerandroid). Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloudand play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, wherever they are. Customers can easily upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their Amazon Cloud Drive for free.

“We’re excited to take this leap forward in the digital experience,” said Bill Carr, vice president of Movies and Music at Amazon. “The launch of Cloud Drive, Cloud Player for Web and Cloud Player for Android eliminates the need for constant software updates as well as the use of thumb drives and cables to move and manage music.”

“Our customers have told us they don’t want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices,” Carr said. “Now, whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere.”

Store Music for Free

Customers automatically start with 5 GB of Cloud Drive storage to upload their digital music library, and those who purchase an Amazon MP3 album will be upgraded to 20 GB of Cloud Drive space. New Amazon MP3 purchases saved directly to Cloud Drive are stored for free and do not count against a customer’s storage quota.

Adding Music to Cloud Drive

Amazon’s easy uploading process makes it simple for customers to save their music library to their Cloud Drive. Files can be stored in AAC or MP3 formats and will be uploaded to Cloud Drive in the original bit rate. Customers can hand-pick particular songs, artists, albums or playlists to upload or simply upload their entire music library.

Cloud Player for Web

Customers who have a computer with a Web browser can listen to their music. Cloud Player for Web currently supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Chrome. Cloud Player for Web lets customers easily manage their music with download and streaming options. Customers don’t need to worry about regularly updating software on their computer to enjoy music, and Amazon MP3 customers can continue to use iTunes and Windows Media Player to add their music to their iPods and MP3 players.

Cloud Player for Android

Cloud Player for Android is now bundled into the new version of the Amazon MP3 App; it includes the full Amazon MP3 Store and the mobile version of Cloud Player. Customers can use the app to play music stored on their Cloud Drive and music stored locally on their device. Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or song, create playlists and download music from Cloud Drive.

Secure Storage

Customers never need to worry about losing their music collection to a hard drive crash again. Files are securely stored on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and each file is uploaded to Cloud Drive in its original bit rate. Customers can buy music anywhere and know that their MP3s are safely stored in Cloud Drive and accessible from any device.

Store More than Music

Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files; music, photos, videos and documents can be stored securely and are available via web browser on any computer. In addition to the 5 GB of free storage, customers can purchase storage plans starting at $20 a year for 20 GB.

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We’re huge, no strike that, massive fans of Netflix’s streaming service.  So large in fact that we dropped our cable company’s TV service in favor of the $8 a month service.  But now one of the selling points that drew us into Netflix’s sticky web of awesome videos is going the way of the Dodo bird.

What are we talking about?  Starz TV shows and movies.  For a while there Netflix had instant access to all of Starz’s content.  The deal was struck as a work around to the royalty and licensing debacle that comes with movies, but now the company wants to delay the delivery of Starz content to Netflix by 90 days.  That means no more “Party Down” episodes on the fly and most certainly no new releases.

On a positive note, we recently discovered that a large number of James Bond movies will begin streaming on Netflix as of April 1st.  Perhaps that will help you dry your tears?

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OnLive, the cloud-based streaming game service, is now set to be built right into TVs. Actually, it’s not just TVs, but Vizio’s expected tablet, phone, Blu-ray players and everything in their new Via product line. That means your gaming can follow you everywhere, from your TV to your pocket, in real time and through the same set of devices. Sweet.

That’s especially intriguing because the technology behind OnLive already allows for PCs, the microconsole and iOS devices to work together in perfect harmony. It makes sense that the next step is integrating the microconsole directly into TVs, cutting out the extra hardware and cable requirement. That means anyone buying a Vizio with OnLive functionality, which requires very little from Vizio in terms of additional hardware, can start playing graphically intensive games within minutes of the TV’s installation. And it’ll work in 1080p, 3D, and 5.1 surround.

Surround is also new, though the service has supposedly offered it since launching back in June. All games available through OnLive only supported stereo gaming, and now the company has announced a partnership with SRS Labs to get surround sound, and high quality audio for non-surround devices, for the service. It may not sound like much at first, but for anyone who’s upgraded from stereo to surround knows, the difference is huge…as long as the media you view actually works in 5.1 (or higher). In OnLive’s case, now it does.

I’ll be checking out both the Vizio selection of TVs and devices with integrated OnLive, as well as how SRS’ 5.1 audio works with the service on Thursday. Stay tuned for first impressions then.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Available apps are often tremendous and ridiculous, like Hulu+ and Netflix
• Build quality is superb, should stand the test of time against raging wakers
• App customization and installation through Sony’s Dash website is excellent

Cons:

• Expensive, even at the discounted $150
• Touchscreen lacks sensitivity, isn’t nearly responsive enough
• Organization of apps is awful on the device

It almost feels like a little piece of Star Trek. Sony’s Dash is just a simple alarm clock, running off of Chumby’s UI and apps, and it’s a remarkably simple little device, but it still feels like the future. But does this expensive piece of tech really survive in the bedroom?

The Sony Dash is the sort of thing I’d expect some well-to-do aristocrat to have. It’s shamelessly gadget-like in an 80’s sort of way, with that large 7” screen and thick, rubbery build. And it’s got just one main function: waking you up.

For some background, I haven’t had a standalone alarm clock in about four years. With the proliferation of cellphone alarms, a move and giving my last clock to my kid brother, I never replaced the 10-year old CD player/alarm. Why bother when you can just check your phone? As I quickly learned, thanks in part to Chinese businesspeople and wrong numbers, who have no concept of time, keeping a cellphone near the bed is never a good idea. For a short trip, maybe. Otherwise, you’re just asking for trouble.

Sony’s Dash has most of the same timewasters as any of today’s smartphones, but without the ability to receive calls from that uncle seeking bail. Thanks to Chumby’s UI, the Dash not only plays the clock, it can check email, play videos, show RSS and Twitter feeds, play games, etc. Meaning like your smartphone, it has apps. The available apps are limited, but you can be sure that anyone looking to buy this smartclock will be satisfied when they see Dilbert comics and Philosoraptor on the Dash.

The Dash is a perplexing piece of hardware. It’s thick and big, which is the complete opposite of what most manufacturers, Sony included, strive for.  A thick base seats the Dash firmly in place, and like a pyramid it thins towards the top. The capacitive touchscreen is only single-touch, and is not very sensitive. This isn’t a serious downside, though mostly because it is, after all, an alarm clock.

More tech-savvy users who want to get the most out of the Dash may be disappointed. As a piece of hardware, the Dash seems like nothing special. Chumby was great, but only in a very geeky way. It lacks a long list of apps that so many of us rely on these days, though the small community does churn out useful and fun apps regularly. The most important ones are there: Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, news feeds and more.

The Dash beside a Blu-ray case. The Dash uses a pyramid base that gets thinner at the top

In some ways, the limited functionality of Chumby does keep the Dash from being all it could be. That, and a few of the odd features. Features like an accelerometer, which makes no sense to be in the Dash. Why does it need to know which way is up? There is no built-in application for it, besides tipping the Dash over when the alarm goes off. Even then, really? Similarly, I think Sony could have done better than relied on Chumby, possibly using Android, though it’s understandable that Chumby was their ultimate choice. The hardware requirement is much less stringent, and after all, the Dash isn’t meant to be a tablet.

Some of the best features of the Dash are, frankly, the same you could get with any modern alarm clock. The sound of birds or the ocean instead of an annoying ringing, multiple alarms on separate days…there are analog clocks that can do that! But no analog clock can show you the daily pictures from NASA or Confucious saying, nor can they wake you up and show emails or your daily calendar first thing in the morning.

With USB and headphone ports, plus the surrounding rubber frame, the Dash can take a beating and keep you in bed longer! Why leave the warm confines of your warm blanket? Snuggle up and watch TV or read comics!

I’m of the impression that these functions are all niceties, and for someone with less self-control, it’s far too easy to sit on the Dash and play around with it. That is to say, sit and play with an alarm clock. The idea is ridiculous, stupid and cool at the same time…geeky for the sake of being geeky.

My bigger concern was that the Dash uses an LCD screen, and one reason I never replaced my analog alarm clock was because I hated the light on it. It always was too bright, even after making it as dim as possible. At first, the LCD on the Dash looked like it would be a nightmare, but it really isn’t. The Dash has a sleep setting where it just acts like a clock, and the brightness can be set so dim that in a pitch-black room, the numbers are just barely visible. Light sleepers who are sensitive to light when sleeping can rejoice with the Dash. It won’t make you lose a wink of sleep.

Not surprisingly, the biggest actual flaws from the Dash stem from the software which Sony worked on. Everything with Chumby runs fine, albeit slow at times. Updates however take 5-15 minutes, though in the month of testing I only needed to update the Dash once. The combination of the insensitive touchscreen and the slow software is a harsh reality, one that could easily have been remedied with a multi-touch screen instead of the projected capacitive touchscreen technology currently used.

Philosoraptor, just one of the many Chumby apps available on the Dash

Then again, hating on an alarm clock which can actually play 1080p video (even though the Dash has an 800×480 screen resolution) is pretty hard. Why it needs that ability is beyond me. The fact that I can stream content from Hulu, Amazon, several major TV networks, a slew of online radio stations and far, far more is almost beyond ludicrous. It’s almost as if Sony just got a room of engineers together and said “you have 90 days, put whatever you want into this box and we’ll ship it.”

Sony’s Dash really is a piece of the future. Being able to have all that power – in an alarm clock – is downright insanity. It’s irresponsible. And there is no reason why every electronic device can’t be so jam-packed with features that we have to rely on an alarm clock to show everyone else how it’s done. The only stumbling blocks are the lack of organization, slowness of the UI and the touchscreen, but even then its so easy to see why this makes an amazing gift. Just remember, in the wrong hands, anyone you give it to could suddenly disappear for days at a time, so be careful. Especially if that person is you.

You can buy the Sony Dash from Amazon for $129.  Alternatively, you can choose from one of the retailers below.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Properly clones a full computer screen to any TV
• Streaming video works

Cons:

• Minimum requirements are too high for most laptop owners; netbooks are out of the question
• Drivers are buggy, does not adapt to TV screens properly
• Expensive

Update: At Gadget Review, it’s our aim to properly review any and all products to perfection, so you, our readers, can understand exactly what you’re going to purchase, before you purchase it. That said, we are not infallible, and have an open-door policy for any reservations users or manufacturers may have with our reviews, an appeals system if you will. We welcome them with open arms. So thanks for the comment!

Here’s our updated review of Veebeam.

Veebeam is a device whose sole purpose is to stream media from a computer to a TV, wirelessly. This functionality is simple enough: a base connects via HDMI or composite cables to a TV, and receives a wireless signal from a USB transmitter connected to a computer. With the proper software installed, that transmitter then acts as a wireless VGA/DVI cable, cloning the computer screen onto your TV.

Update

In my original testing, I only included information on the product. That clearly was a mistake, because there is documentation that’s extremely relevant to Veebeam which I was not privy to, because in the box I received there was no paperwork whatsoever. All I received was  a non-descript cardboard box with just the hardware, and some legal paperwork all products include, plus a tiny note that says drivers must be downloaded from the website. No reasonable person would need an installation guide, but of course Veebeam’s website has downloadable PDFs, just in case.

Veebeam is as bare-bones as it gets. You plug your media cables in and go. Go to the website and install the drivers, and you’re set. It was only after minimum specifications were brought to my attention that I even realized there were any. This, of course, makes me wonder why it isn’t a more outspoken requirement, since so many of us now use netbooks instead of laptops.

So I tested with a desktop, and with a laptop, that far exceeded the minimum requirements. And you know what, Veebeam did work fine. Colors were still off, but it didn’t run slowly. That’s great, though when using it on my desktop it failed to use the whole screen, leaving black bars all around. But yes, the picture quality was fine.

My bigger problem is that so many of us now own netbooks, or only mid-range laptops, that the vast majority of users don’t meet the minimum requirements. I personally don’t own a laptop that powerful, and ended up borrowing a Macbook Pro and a very powerful 2-year old HP laptop to retest. So why bother if you can’t even run it.

The remainder of the review has been edited with the updated look in mind.

The process is far from perfect. On my 32” TV, a 720p Vizio display, the screen didn’t display all of the picture, and some spilled over every edge of my TV. Veebeam has no fix for this, nor do the adapters automatically change the resolution of the computer to accommodate. If Veebeam is meant to be the simplest solution for non-tech savvy users, this is a significant problem.

Using a USB transmitter is a smart idea, but either it is not powerful enough, or the signal used is too weak to get through even a single wall. In fact, it can’t go through most surfaces at a reasonable distance. At 20’, I stood between the base and transmitter, and the signal cut out after just two seconds. I tested it multiple times, including just walking past like a family member or friend would to take a bathroom or snack break. Every time, the signal cut out, and took anywhere from 15-30 seconds to reconnect. As I later discovered, which is only listed in the downloadable user guide, the maximum distance is 20′, and USB wireless does not worth through walls. So if you aren’t in the same room, tough luck. At about 10′ away from the base, walking in front of the direct line-of-sight can still cause a shudder.

Next, I tested it with my laptop, an ultraportable Gateway EC1437u, which is fairly weak, but more powerful than any of today’s netbooks. Testing within a 10’ radius with a direct line of sight to the base, the signal worked fine, and didn’t cut out with a minor interruption, such as someone walking past. Staying in the way, however, did cut the signal. This notebook does not meet the bare minimum requirements, so if you own a laptop that does not have 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM or better, Veebeam will not work well for you.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Veebeam is that it has no control over video playback, especially for web video. Streaming content from CBS.com or Hulu works fine, thanks to the laptop, but should the signal cut out, the video will continue playing on the laptop. Veebeam does not pause the video. It has no control over the media playing. In fact, it has no control over any computer applications…it simply streams the video displayed on the screen.

Worse yet, the drivers are not user friendly. On both Windows Vista and Windows 7, they turn on automatically when booting the machine it’s installed on, and can’t simply be set to only activate when using Veebeam. It also crashes every time I shut down or reboot. The media playback options for Veebeam are difficult to understand and mostly useless, because Veebeam’s selling point and main function is to display the computer screen on a TV.

In that sense, Veebeam is also too slow, with 2-3 seconds of lag time for video playback. Even just 5’ from the base, the image on the TV was actually three full seconds behind what played on my laptop. Controlling a PC with that much lag is troubling. Typing with a wireless keyboard this way proved annoying, because the changes on-screen are too slow.

Video quality depends on the strength of your computer. If your computer meets the minimum requirements, video quality is close to what you see on-screen.

What Veebeam can work well with is business presentations, but only if the drivers weren’t necessary. In several meetings I used Veebeam, connecting the base to a projector, and the transmitter to my laptop. It worked within seconds, and removed any need for the VGA cable that is most typically seen in the board room lying about.

At first, I stated that Veebeam was flat out garbage. That’s not true. It works, but only if you have the minimum requirements, which is undoubtedly a small audience of people. For those of you who own a laptop with 2.2GHz and 2GB of RAM or better, and have decent enough battery life to leave your laptop on and playing so you can watch on the big screen, then maybe Veebeam is for you. It’s certainly convenient. But if you’re like me and use a light notebook or netbook, something that indeed can play 720p and 1080p content and do so over a VGA/HDMI cable, then Veebeam is useless for you. The price users must pay, both for having a powerful laptop and for using this wireless system, may be too much for some users, but it does indeed work.

OnLive is really ramping up. The streaming game service, which received much criticism upon its release in June during E3, has just announced the official release of their micro-console, which is available for pre-order right now for $99 with a free game and one controller, and will have its first shipments on December 2^nd. They also announced that indie games and older titles (meaning those that aren’t selling particularly well anymore) will be releasing in the bucketful as part of a new flat rate for games. Finally, apps for OnLive will be available for the iPhone and iPad later this year, and for Android and Blackberry early next year.

The flat rate, which the company has not yet revealed a price for, will essentially be a rental service. OnLive, which is now free to any and all subscribers (the games obviously have to be paid for), will have any games in the flat rate plan available to you when you pay, and they will continue to be that way until you stop paying. When that happens, all of your saved data is saved in case you ever want to go back and play some more.

Apps on mobile devices for OnLive will be available shortly, according to the company. For the iPhone and iPad, apps will release before year’s end. For Android and Blackberry, they will release early next year. There are no plans for browser compatibility (for it all to just work through a browser) according to the company. The apps will also require Wi-Fi to connect to OnLive’s servers. Games will not initially be playable through these apps, not until developers make their games playable through touch controls or miniature keyboards.

Preorders can be taken at OnLive’s website. OnLive’s service is free of charge.

If you preordered a Boxee Box you can now expect it to ship to you as early as November 11th.  Doesn’t Boxee know that’s just days after the release of COD Black Ops?  I mean come on, everyone and their mother will be so consumed with FPS fraggin’ they won’t have time to watch any streaming media.

For those of you that didn’t jump on the preorder train, you’ll have to wait until November 17th where it will appear in stores for $200.  

BOXEE BOX BY D-LINK TO SHIP NOVEMBER 10
Fountain Valley, Calif. (7am PT, October 20, 2010) – Today, D-Link and Boxee announced
the upcoming Boxee Box by D-Link will begin shipping on November 10, 2010 to customers
who pre-order the Boxee Box through Amazon in the United States or Best Buy and Future
Shop in Canada. The Boxee Box will be generally available through the company’s vast network
of retail and online distributors on November 17, 2010.
“We’ve seen amazing demand for the Boxee Box across all of our pre-order partners in the US
and internationally,” said Rod St. Michel, vice president of consumer sales at D-Link.
“Consumers are looking for the right product to get their favorite TV shows and movies onto
their TV from the Internet and their home network, and the Boxee Box is the friendliest, and
most consumer-ready product currently available.”
The award-winning Boxee Box, first unveiled in December 2009, received critical acclaim from
the industry and is highly anticipated by consumers. The product is the first media device
capable of playing most popular media file formats from a home network along with free and
premium TV shows and movies, videos, music, and photos from the Internet, with support for
full 1080p high-definition (HD) and 5.1 surround sound.
With tens-of-thousands of movies, shows and apps available*, the Boxee Box gives users
unparalleled access to on-demand entertainment and newfound control over their TV:
TV on Your Schedule. Nearly 40,000 TV episodes available from your favorite
networks, ready to watch any time you want.
Huge Movie Library. Enjoy a vast range of free movies and new releases in stunning
HD from premium movie services.
Plays All Your Digital Stuff. Access videos, music, or pictures from your computer or
home network.
Tailored to Your Couch. Internet TV should be more than just Internet on your TV. The
Boxee Box and two-faced QWERTY remote are designed to transform the Internet into
something you’ll love watching on your HDTV from the couch.
See What Your Friends Are Watching. Follow what your Facebook and Twitter friends
are watching, and share your favorites too.
Give Your Wallet a Break. Why pay for stuff you don’t watch? The Boxee Box lets you
watch tens-of-thousands of popular TV shows and movies – you choose what you pay
for!
Try Boxee Now. Unlike other devices, interested buyers can try the Boxee Box’ software for
free before they buy the device. The software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users at
Boxee’s website – http://boxee.tv. Since the software’s launch two years ago, Boxee has added
well over one million users. When you want to shift the viewing experience from your PC to
your HDTV, the Boxee Box by D-Link automatically imports your account, bringing your favorite
TV shows, apps, and friends with you.
Pricing and Availability
The Boxee Box by D-Link will begin shipping on November 10, 2010 for customers who have
pre-ordered from Amazon in the United States and Best Buy or Future Shop in Canada.
Additionally, pre-orders taken in Australia/New Zealand and other countries across Europe will
begin shortly after. Pricing for the US and Canada will be $229 MSRP with an average street
price at about $199. Prices may vary in other regions.
Pre-Order Links
US: http://amzn.to/boxeeboxbydlink
Canada – Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/boxee.aspx
Canada – Future Shop: www.futureshop.ca/boxee
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0043EV3MS/
Australia/New Zealand: www.dlink.com.au/boxeebox

It wasn’t a question of if, but when Netflix would make their iPad app compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Well folks, today is that day.  Head over to the app store and download it completely free of charge.  Of course you’ll need the $8.99/month plan, but that’s pennies on the dollar when you compare it to Hulu Plus or any other paid streaming service for that matter.

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