I was so surprised that I even double checked with WD’s PR rep, who confirmed that Pandora, along with YouTube and Flickr, all work with the WD box. That alone – if it really does work – makes this box worth checking out.

Here’s a list of features for the box:

* Full-HD 1080p video playback and navigation with the included remote control and crisp, animated navigation menus;
* Play a wide variety of file formats including support for a wide variety of the most popular file formats with no need to spend time transcoding;
* Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV and discover new music with Pandora Internet radio or listen to thousands of radio stations via Live365 Internet radio;
* Ethernet port for wired or WiFi connection to access files anywhere on the network to play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on a home network;
* Turns a USB drive into an HD media player and plays content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices;
* Unlimited media collection, just add more USB drives for more space;
* Two USB ports for seamless media playback from multiple USB drives and ability to access them simultaneously while a media library feature collects the content on all the drives into one list sorted by media type;
* Transfer files by copying, moving or deleting files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus;
* Picture Transfer Protocol support to show photos and movies directly from digital camera or video camera and or any digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol;
* Advanced navigation options including thumbnail and list views, media library and search;
* Photo viewing to create custom slide shows, zoom and pan and search;
* Movie viewing with fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom and pan, view subtitles, and search;
* Music playback with fast-forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat and search;
* File copying between USB devices;
* HDMI® 1.3 port, composite video and component video output for the highest quality HDTV or home theater;
* SPDIF digital output that sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience; and,
* Ultra-compact design to fit easily into a home entertainment center.

The box costs $199 and works with both PCs and Macs. The question now is whether potential Pandora access is enough to convince you to purchase?

[WD]

Normally I wouldn’t ask, but you and I have a connection. You might not know this, but we’re alumni of the same college. Sure, I know that Microsoft has come out and said that Netflix streaming is an Xbox exclusive, but c’mon. Don’t you think the ties of alumni relations are stronger than some piece of paper full of legalese? I do.

iPhone or Android apps would be cool too, but I would much much rather have it on something hooked up to my television. So, yeah, if you could release a PS3 app, that’d be great. Thanks! [NewTeeVee via Electronista]

Here’s the money quote from NewsCorpian Chase Carey, so there’s no confusion:

It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online. I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business

An optimist might interpret this as a move toward tiered access, or even the decidedly good addition of paid premium content, like HBO and Showtime. But read carefully:

It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online

It doesn’t get any less premium than broadcast content, which is exactly what Carey says we’ll soon be paying for — sometime in 2010, he supposes. This is extra-extra-foreboding next to last week’s statements about a paid Hulu from Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, highlighted by TVBizwire: “That’s not an if,” he said “that’s a when.” It was fun while it lasted, I guess.

On a totally unrelated note, here are some neat articles, for pleasure reading! [Broadcasting Cable via TVBizwire]

The Price

$US130

The Verdict

It’s good! We had three issues with the first one: wireless interference, the inability to adjust the volume from the computer when using the USB wireless audio dongle, and the price. To start, it’s $US130, down from $US150, and our volume changes on the MacBook Pro transferred directly over the air to volume changes in the player.

If you’re talking sound quality, the Mint Studio is decent. This is more about the convenience of wireless speakers than having a really great sounding set of speakers. For $US130, you get a not-too-shabby set that can also act as an iPod dock. It’s definitely better than the speakers you have in your laptop, so that’s already an upgrade.

Lastly, the wireless interference is reduced by hopping over two channels instead of just one, which should help to curb many problems unless you have a lot of wireless laptops using the same frequency. Also, 802.11n laptops and routers are pretty much de facto since we reviewed the previous Mint, so you shouldn’t see any interference if you’re using the 5GHz channel for your N traffic.

One bonus feature introduced in the Mint Studio is the ability to support three different units from one transmitting laptop. We tested this in our house, with the laptop source and USB transmitter on the first floor, and one unit on each of the three floors. It was able to reach all three floors with zero audible loss, which is pretty great, and within its household operating range (with walls and floors) of 30 metres.

It also still supports line-in and still acts like an iPod/iPhone dock, and works fine in those respects too. With the low price and improved featureset, I think the Mint Studio is a pretty good buy for people who want cheap multi-room audio that can also function as an iPod dock. [Mint]

Fixed interference issues and remote volume control from a computer

Cheap way to get wireless streaming music throughout your house

Sound quality isn’t astounding

Techcrunch has a few shots of the service, which give a pretty good idea of how it’ll work: You, Anonymous Google User, will search for music. Google will return a special search page template with artist info, album listings and cover art — this is something they’ve been doing for a while now. The crucial difference is, you’ll be able to listen to songs, either as samples or in full, by way of a iLike and LaLa player widgets, directly from the results. (It could be more — Kafka says Imeem’s joining in as well)

iLike is a music discovery service-cum-music store, which streams samples for free, and sells tracks for $US0.89 to $US1.29, not unlike iTunes. LaLa has a much webbier model, in which users can listen to any song once, after which they can either a) purchase online, browser-based listening privileges for $US0.10, or download the track in full for $US0.79. They’re two minor players (though iLike got snatched up by MySpace a while back) that just got one of the biggest endorsements imaginable: Prime placement on Google’s search pages.

I don’t really see where a desktop client or even a Google-branded store front fits into this picture, but it’s early, and these are just leaks — and besides, as interesting as this is, it doesn’t feel quite complete. Maybe new pricing from iLike or LaLa? Subscriptions? Whatever it is, a formal announcement is expected on October 28. [TechCrunch]

After all, Roku players only stream media from a handful of sources while an HTPC opens up the entire internet for playback on a TV. Plus, nettops and other small PCs are becoming extremely affordable. Unless the XR costs next to nothing, it makes more sense to save up for an HTPC. In the end, you might recoup the added expense by ditching your cable service. [Engadget]

The kit includes a remote, 2.5-inch space for a you-provided HDD, three USB slots, Ethernet, and support for more than a few file formats. It launches, well, soon, as there’s no date and it’s currently in pre-order. [Amazon via The Gadget Site via Engadget]

I don’t even know if this can be called a “backdoor” with as easy as it is to bypass the “Wi-Fi only” warning on this app:

Tap the OK button, and the app will act as if it can’t receive broadcasts. However, tap the text of the warning message instead, and the Eye TV app will stream live TV over a 3G connection.

Easypeasy, and you might as well snatch up the app before Apple or AT&T react. [ElectricPig via Boy Genius Report]

If you want to pick up the S5 in Australia, the RRP is $799. Or, going at today’s awesome exchange rate, the equivalent of $US725. Sure, we’ve got GST and the US price probably doesn’t include sales tax, plus there are economies of scale to think about. But ultimately, this looks like yet another case of Aussies getting the short end of the stick when it comes to gadget pricing.

[Playback]