Updated. D-Link and Boxee just announced that the Boxee Box by D-Link is now powered by the CE4100 Intel Atom processor.
The original Boxee Box design used an NVIDIA Tegra 2 SoC. The Intel processor is also reportedly being used in Logitech’s Google TV-powered Revue box.
D-Link said the "new processor will ensure that the Boxee Box can support full HD streaming from all current and future streaming platforms for years to come".
Also starting today, US customers will be able to pre-order the Boxee Box by D-Link exclusively through Amazon.com
(Actually, the current Amazon page allows only signup for email notification.)
First shipments are still said to begin this November and "average" street pricing is said to be $199. MSRP, however, is now $229.
The Boxee Box was introduced with great fanfare last December and was supposed to ship by this June, but was pushed to November. Boxee and D-Link are hoping that the product’s flexibility will justify its 2X pricing over Apple’s $99 Apple TV.
Apple’s second run at a home video media device is focused on playing 99 cent TV shows and $4 movie rentals. The Boxee Box will play locally stored user content as well as provide access to numerous cloud-based services like Pandora, Last.fm, Flickr, etc. Both products support Netflix Watch Instantly.
But both products will be crippled if content owners don’t allow access to their shows and movies. So far, Apple has signed up only Fox on a trial basis and ABC. Boxee, on the other hand, has not as yet announced any pay-for-access TV partners.
But it seems inevitable that some sort of pay-to-play plan will be key to Boxee’s viability, given the content blocking battles it has been waging most notably with Hulu.