Hisense Launching Pulse Set-Top Box Powered By Google TV

Consumer electronics maker Hisense is tossing its hat into the Google TV ring with the Pulse, it announced today. The set-top box is slated for a November arrival and will be sold for under $99.

As you would expect from this sort of set-top box, the Pulse is tiny. It’s under 5 inches wide and deep and only 1.37 inches tall, and weighs 1.5 pounds. The box has an HDMI input and an HDMI output and supports 1080p video (and H.264, MPEG-4, and AVC formats). It also has USB and Ethernet ports (one each), as well as Wi-Fi. The device also supports picture-in-picture viewing.

It’s interesting to see how set-top makers are designing their remotes. Hisense opted for a two-sided remote that has several buttons (including a Netflix button) on one side, and a QWERTY keyboard on the other. A rounded side gives the remote an almost book-ish appearance.

The Pulse is powered by Google TV, which provides Web surfing and tons of video streaming options. "For consumers who already have an HDTV and want to enjoy all the benefits of streaming content, the convenience of web access and apps, Google TV is the answer," says JoAnne Foist, Director of Marketing at Hisense USA. "It allows users to take advantage of their existing cable/satellite TV subscriptions and their existing high-definition TVs to bring many features straight to their fingertips. The lines between traditional TV and Web content are blurring - people want to watch all types of content, and the Hisense Pulse with Google TV provides exactly that."