Twerdahl refused to give other
details or the names of the content partners, but he said that the update will
be launched later this year.
The 5-inch-by-5-inch device, unveiled by Netflix and Roku in
may this year, has no hard drive, and simply streams more than 10,000 movies
and TV shows from the Netflix library, through an ethernet or Wi-Fi connection.
Users can fast-forward and rewind the video streams with a remote control. The
box was sold through Roku's site and Tim Twerdahl said
for Forbes that the initial shipment was sold out in three weeks.
There already are similar Internet-to-TV devices made by
Apple Inc. and Vudu Inc. which cost $229 to $295, but Netflix is hoping that
both new and current users will be attracted to its new set-top box for its
relatively low cost and "simplicity."
Netflix by Roku is priced at $99 and it grants access to only 10,000 titles of the Netflix’s 100,000 movies.
Along with the Roku device, two other Netflix players with
added features like DVD or Blu-ray playback are expected to launch in the
second half of 2008, from manufacturers including