Apps (continued):

» SHOUTcast Radio:

This app has a vast amount of online radio stations. You can search by keyword or genre. Most of the channels I tested sounded fine but found that often the current track info wasn’t updated.

» Snag Films:

On demand indie films. Limited selection of movies and video quality was not very impressive. Just don’t think I could watch this for more than a few minutes without getting eye strain.

» Spotify:

Provides on demand access to over 15 million songs. They have three levels, a free account with ads, an unlimited account that has no ads and unlimited streaming for $4.99/mo and a premium account which adds mobile access for $9.99/mo. But to get even the free account you need a Facebook account.

» Tune In:

This app allows you to play radio stations including some HD station feeds. I did find a few local stations but found the audio would drop out more often that I would like. This app also didn’t seem to update the “On Next” field.

» Vimeo:

Another web clip app. Video quality varies quite a bit but for the most part everything was pretty good. The better clips did tend to buffer more than some other apps with similar picture quality.

» Vudu HD:

Another pay per view app, but this one comes with a $5.99 credit pre-loaded. They offer movies in three levels; SD, HD (720) and HDX (1080). All of which include 5.1 surround sound. Even the SD video quality was good, so I would imagine the HD variants would be very good.

» Watch Mojo:

The app has a bunch of video clips in categories like auto, business and technology, film, music, etc. Video quality was nice but it does play ads before the clips and there was an occasional buffer.

» XO College Sports:

Very similar to the SEC app mentioned above. Content is limited and navigation isn’t as smooth as other apps that are included.

» YouTube Videos:

Allows you to sign into your existing account. You can also get quick access to Top Rated, Most Viewed, Most Popular, Featured and Top Favorites. It also has a useful search feature to find additional content. Overall I think this is a nice way to access those YouTube clips.

Other Features:

» Remote control:

This is one place I think the device falls short. While they provide mounting points on the bottom of the device they are not conducive to mounting it and still having line of sight with the IR receiver. Granted they do have an app to turn your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch into a wireless remote, but I much prefer the tactile feedback of actual buttons. I find it far easier to get the right button in the dark without having to look. So I would have preferred this device also integrated a Bluetooth remote which also would have allowed Bluetooth keyboards to be connected.

» USB Support:

As mentioned, this device allows you to connect keyboards to the USB ports, but I was also able to confirm that a Logitech and a no name brand wireless keyboard also worked great. This device also supports cameras in the USB ports as well as flash and hard drives. One caveat; this device does not seem to support exFAT. While WD does not state support for exFAT, they do list FAT and the drive in question was formatted as exFAT for a device that only allows FAT file systems. So I was a little surprised.

» Dashboard:

The Dashboard is essentially your short cut menu. Once you pick an app as a favorite it will show on your dashboard. To access the Dashboard you simply press the D (blue) key and your shortcuts appear. You can even resort them so your most used are located up front. Setting this up ensures the wife can easily get to her weather reports and Pandora without having to go to Services and arrow to app.