It's like Kerbango all over again, except it's going to ship and it works: The Roku unit reminds me very much of the ill-fated Motorola Kerbango, which never saw the light of day. (I've seen a production unit, but one of the rare ones in the wild.) The SoundBridge Radio is an Internet radio tuner with dozens of presets that can play thousands of radio stations, and which works over Wi-Fi only using 802.11b.
The radio can be used without a computer nearby, but you can also stream music from a Mac or PC using a variety of software and services, including iTunes (AAC or MP3, but non-DRM files only), Rhapsody, Windows Media Connect, Napster, or Musicmatch.
The SoundBridge Radio tunes AM/FM in addition to Internet radio, and can play music back (unprotected files only until a future software update) via Secure Digital (SDIO) cards inserted into a slot. It has built-in speakers, including a subwoofer. For those who want a $399 Internet radio on their bedside, the Roku device has a clock and alarm. The time is updated over the Internet.
Two massive lacunae in its Wi-Fi choices, though, especially sad for its price tag. No WPA support, and it's 802.11b-based. The Philips chip they use supports WPA, but the software isn't finalized for WPA support yet; it may still make it into its November release. The 802.11b choice is more complicated as for the kind of architecture they're using, they have only 802.11b options; it was a forced choice. On a busy network, adding a very high-use streaming 802.11b device is likely to reduce normal 802.11g network's throughput by double digit percentages, although proprietary extensions from some companies help mitigate 802.11b speed bumps for 802.11g clients.
It ships in November, and they're offering $50 off for orders placed before Oct. 31; they won't charge your card until it ships.