New Roku XR will add 802.11n Wi-Fi upgrade to cheap media streamer
It may not be the ultimate media streaming solution, but for $99.99 the Roku Digital Video Player already does quite a bit, including offering Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand and Major League Baseball games. Unlike many of its competitors, Roku even offers built-in Wi-Fi to go along with its wired Ethernet port.
Unfortunately, that wireless connection is 802.11b/g, which isn't ideal for video streaming. Apparently, Roku will be addressing that limitation with its new XR player, which will come with 802.11n Wi-Fi for far greater throughput rates. It also adds a USB port, so you can connect an external hard drive or thumb drive with video files for streaming to your HDTV. One thing that isn't clear is if the XR will support 1080p HD, which the original Roku doesn't currently handle.
We also don't know what the price of the new device will be, though if these are the extent of the upgrades, Roku should probably keep the same pricing. When the XR will become available is not known as well, though with more of these streaming player hitting the marketplace all the time, the sooner the better.
[Via Engadget HD]