Not wanting to be left behind in any one area, Samsung has announced its answer to Roku and Apple TV – the Samsung Smart Media Player.
Basically it’s a box that will run the company’s Smart TV interface. The kicker? It’s price. The box is retailing for $150, which is $50 more expensive than the Apple TV and well above any Roku device. It allows for all the usual apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO Go, but you can find these elsewhere for less.
The Smart Media Player does have a cable card slot, allowing it to replace devices you can rent from a cable company, but it’s still a bit of a tough sell. Perhaps it would be better for Samsung to stick to some of the areas its excelling in, like all those many, many phones.
Source: The Verge