The other day I read about the very first box out of the gate running Intel’s very promising (and much anticipated) CE 3100 ‘System on a Chip (SoC) processor (aka ‘Canmore’).   This was news worthy of further investigation, and so within a few clicks I found similar mention on Slashgear, and soon ended up at the personal blog of the OEM Product Manager from the Netherlands who worked on the project.

Titled “Yuixx” (perhaps indicating that we’ve officially run out of web 2.0 product names), the device runs a modified Linux OS rather than the Yahoo Connected TV platform (however, it does support Yahoo Widgets).  While it’s not immediately clear whether Yuixx is destined for the US market, what’s really interesting about the device is that according to Slashgear, “Hulu support via an integrated browser with Adobe Flash 9.0 support is present.”                        

Metrological (another Dutch company) plans to unveil their ‘white label’ version of the device at the upcoming Computex show in Taipei (sown above).  A few questions come to mind -

• Does Yahoo have an exclusive agreement for North America with Intel preventing the release of devices not running Connected TV?
• If not, will we be seeing Yiuxx here soon?
• How do you pronounce “Yuixx”?
• The Flash-enabled browser, much like boxee’s, appears to be designed to get around hulu’s owners’ aversion to internet video on the television.   Since hulu is currently available only in the US, why would slashgear mention this if the device wasn’t headed our way?

Either way, sooner or later we’ll be seeing CE 3100 devices here.  Whether Yahoo (the gatekeeper of Widgets just as Apple is the gatekeeper of iPhone Apps) will allow a browser workaround onboard to access hulu content remains to be seen – but if they don’t, expect an impressive market in jailbroken Connected TV devices to emerge.

One way or another (even if it’s not until Apple comes out with that iTouch netbook next year), I do see hulu ending up on TV, though – it’s just too awesome a service not to.   It’ll be interesting to see just how it happens.