Boxee Box media streamer: Hands-on photos

There's been much excitement about the Boxee Box. We love Boxee, because it's a slick, beautiful media system that offers some fantastic social-networking options. At CES this year, we've been lucky enough to get some hands-on time with the hardware. We have to say, we've very impressed by the Box's style. Its slightly jaunty angle and strange, half-melted look is delightfully different. It will be a horror to integrate into a home-cinema system, though, and the shiny surface is a magnet for fingerprints.

The user interface looks terrific. We were thrilled by the beautiful graphical design and the traditional Boxee style. If you compare this product to something like the Popcorn Hour, it's much more user-friendly. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the Popcorn Hour, but some do think it's rather clunky.

The Boxee Box has two USB inputs -- one at the front and one at the rear. There are the usual HDMI and network outputs, all crammed into a tiny little box. It's really quite impressive, and we honestly can't wait until it becomes available in the second half of the year. The D-Link team tell us that it will be available globally, but the initial launch will take place in the US. We'll keep you posted on the dates, and, in the meantime, enjoy some photos of this funky machine.