Well, it's arrived, and I had a go with it last night.
First, I had to sync the controller by plugging it in with a USB cable. Fair enough. Then the console started, and download an update. Then it downloaded an update for the joypad(!), which I had to plug in again.
And then it was off. Obviously, it's exactly the same as it is on the PC - except you're using a joypad. And that's perhaps the biggest failing - some PC games just don't work with a pad (and one didn't work with the pad at all). FEAR3 even showed the keys you should press (as in, keyboard keys) to open doors and such. In fairness, the joypad controls are pre-defined, and the pad itself isn't that bad (it's a bit heavy, and the d-pad is, predictably, shit). But that's a bit of a shame.
On the plus side, a) it worked, and b) it looks
much better on a TV a few meters away than it does on a monitor next to your face. Graphics whores will still pick fault, but it looks more than good enough. Most impressive.
The 'console' itself is
tiny, barely bigger than a Nintendo DS. It has no moving parts, so it's silent, but it does run hot - the (tiny) instruction book warns you not to touch it during or after play (it also tells you not to microwave or incinerate any of the components
).
They could do with some more games to choose from, and to make them work better with a joypad (although you can plug a keyboard / mouse in if you want to, but that's defeating the 'console' object somewhat).
In conclusion, though, it's very interesting, but probably not worth £69. I'm fairly sure, however, that it's the future of gaming.