Popcorn Hour A-200 networked media tank: $179 from Jan 18th

Popcorn Hour have eschewed CES 2010 for their latest media player, and instead stealth-announced it on their user forum.  The Popcorn Hour A-200 is a compact set-top box that slots in-between the company's entry-level A-110 and flagship C-200; you lose the externally-accessed HDD/Blu-ray bay (though you can still internally mount a 2.5/3.5-inch HDD) but still get 1080p HD functionality and the company's new UI and app center.

In fact the core specifications – a 667MHz processor, 512MB of memory and 256MB of NAND flash – are the same for the A-200 as they are for the C-200, while the list of supported formats (which you can find in its entirety in the gallery below) is suitably vast.  Needless to say it'll handle MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid and AVCHD formats, along with UPnP media streaming and internet video.

Connectivity includes USB 2.0 slave and host ports, gigabit ethernet, HDMI v1.3a and the usual component/composite/S-Video ports, and for another $20 Popcorn Hour will sell you a suitable WiFi dongle too.  Orders for the new Popcorn Hour A-200 will be taken from January 18th, and it'll be priced at $179.

[Thanks Andrew!]