CompanionBox
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Samsung shows off Google TV companion box and Blu-ray player
So, the word is that Samsung was planning on showing off Google TV at its presser, but switched things up at the last minute and stuck to its first party Smart TV offering. Still, that didn't stop two Samsung Google TV boxes from showing up at the show floor, a Blu-ray player and a standalone "companion" box. They both look pretty svelte, and the companion box is particularly smaller than the standalone Logitech and Sony boxes. Samsung's explanation of the showing was the idea that Samsung was "capable" of supporting other platforms, though they didn't have any promises of a release, a release date, or a price range. We also saw a Samsung Galaxy S running the Google TV controller app, which isn't much of a stretch, and there wasn't any sort of physical remote or keyboard on display. Basically, Samsung is showing the bare minimum of a Google TV offering, which seems to be sort of appropriate with Google TV's current feature set, if you want to get all "deeper meaning" about it. %Gallery-113282%
ASUS' Intel CE4100 Companion Box with Windows Media Center Embedded, there and back (to the ether) again
Seriously, blink and you might've missed it. ASUS had its own Intel CE4100-powered companion box on display running what our memory recalls was Windows Media Center Embedded. We'd love to confirm for the 5 percent of our brain that's uncertain, but by the time we went back for pickup shots of the adjacent (and awesome) Acer box, it was already gone. (Did the RevoPad scare it of that badly?) At any rate, this ASUS device has no drives, but it does boast an ATSC antenna, component and composite video. It's slated for the first half of next year, though representatives weren't willing to talk price just yet. Some more pics in the gallery below. %Gallery-102066%
