Boxee for iPad released

[Dangelus]

So Boxee for iPad has finally been released. I've got to say I'm pretty underwhelmed.

Boxee is media centre software for pcs macs and the "Boxee Box" and on it's very powerful and robust. Based on XBMC (Xbox Media Center) is strength has always been in the plugins available for it but also the fact that it is great for viewing online content from a multitude of sources.

Unfortunately the iPad version strips all this right down. You don't get any compatibility with any plugins but you can view content posted by your friends on Facebook and Twitter as well as stream your own media library pretty seamlessly from your own computer (by installing a little software on the system running the desktop version of Boxee).

I can see it being useful if you're already a Boxee user. I do have it installed on my PC but I tend to use the totally open source XBMC more as since Boxee went commercial they stopped supporting (and sometime downright blocked) features such as Hulu and other streaming sites for fear of losing the support of the networks.

There are already quite a few apps that will stream your personal media library to the iPad so I don't see this as a huge attraction. I was hoping for access to the online streams which would have been useful.

Anyway, its free so check it out:

http://www.boxee.tv/ipad