boxee tv

Boxee set to battle Apple TV, Roku

While CNET's New York office waits for power to come back after the storm, we're bringing you the Update show from our San Francisco office. Thursday's top tech stories include:

- Boxee TV arrives at Walmart for $99 and offers perks for early adopters, including three months of free service and a discounted DVR subscription afterward.

- AT&T and T-Mobile have activated a new service that blocks smartphone thieves from using a stolen phone on GSM networks.

- AT&T launched the AT&T Locker app that offers 5GB of free cloud storage … Read more

Boxee TV early adopters get 3 months of free service, reduced $10 monthly fee

Boxee TV is already beginning to show up at Wal-Mart, and now there's a good reason to head there sooner, rather than later.

Boxee has released some additional promotional details for early adopters of Boxee TV. If you purchase a Boxee TV during the holiday season, you'll get three months of free month of "No Limits DVR" service, plus you'll get a reduced $10 monthly fee for the lifetime of your subscription.

Early adopters will also get three months of free Netflix, for both new and current subscribers; if you're a current subscriber, three … Read more

Wal-Mart to start selling Boxee TV set-top box

Boxee has just won a big one.

Wal-Mart tomorrow will start carrying the $99 Boxee TV set-top box at 3,000 locations nationwide. Bloomberg, which was first to report on the news, spoke with Boxee CEO Avner Ronen, who said that the Wal-Mart partnership could deliver "a big launch" for his set-top box.

Boxee announced the product earlier this month, calling it a "No Limits DVR." The device, which connects to a television set, has no onboard storage but acts as a DVR thanks to cloud storage. In addition, over-the-air television programming can be watched due … Read more

iPad Mini steals Surface presale thunder

Tuesday's CNET Update scratches beyond the Surface:

Microsoft is now taking preorders for the Surface tablet, which starts at $499. Today's tech news roundup looks at the prices and keyboard accessories for Microsoft's competitor to the iPad.

But just one hour after Surface details are released, Apple sends out a notice that it will have a media announcement on October 23, which is likely the iPad Mini. So the speculation continues for another week.

Facebook has added some quirky emoticon options to use in comments, chat and private messages. When a <3 isn't enough, there'… Read more

Boxee readying new set-top box with DVR support?

The makers of the Boxee Box set-top box appear close to releasing its successor in the coming months, and it could offer support for over-the-air live television, as well as DVR support and the usual cast and crew of Web apps.

Sadly, those looking for the next great aesthetic breakthrough from the company might find the leaked device a bit uninspiring. Photos supplied from The Verge indicate that the Boxee TV might shed its predecessor's cube-like design for a more conventional rectangular prism look with a matte black finish. … Read more

Boxee gets Clicker app, but not all Clicker data

Just a few days ahead of the scheduled public beta launch of media app Boxee on Monday, the excellent Clicker Internet video directory has been ported to the platform.

To review: Boxee is a media viewing app designed for living room use--that is, at a distance, with a remote control. It's a good interface for sources like YouTube, Netflix, CNN, and CBS (our publisher), as well as music, home movies, and photos. We've covered it a lot and quite like it.

Clicker, which we also like, is an extremely well-curated directory of streaming television shows. Clicker on Boxee … Read more