Kodak this week announced its entrance into the media player market with the Kodak Theatre HD Player, a wireless media hub that lets users view and edit photos in HD.

"The box does other neat tricks including playing video in up to 720p format, music, podcasts, and also provides access to Internet radio stations," writes PC Mag's Brian Bennett. "Playback is controlled by the device's remote and media is loaded via Wi-Fi, USB, or SD cards. The Theater HD Player should hit the market in September 2008 for price of $299.99."

As Computer Shopper's Les Shu points out, the new product is designed to compete directly with the Apple TV - with some limitations. "Unlike the Apple TV, there's no hard drive inside the Player, so you can't store any files on it," he writes. "That means it can't work as a standalone unit, and it relies on network-attached computers or the Web for content. But, you can attach a USB thumb drive or SD card to it to access media locally. And, there's no mention whether the Player will let you purchase content like movies and music, which the Apple TV does. Plus, at $299, it costs more than the entry-level Apple TV ($229)..."

More here from TechRadar ... more here from Digital Trends ... more here from TWICE ... more here from SlipperyBrick ... more here from TV Squad ... more here from E-Gear ... and the press release is here.