Apple TV

In 2007, Apple began selling a digital media receiver to consumers called Apple TV. The device allows for the user to play content from a variety of sources, such as the iTunes Store or from a local network, and projects the content onto a high-end output source, like an HDTV. The first generation Apple TV retailed for $299. Analysts had hoped a new Apple TV would be announced at WWDC 2010.http://technofriends.in/2010/06/06/list-of-expected-announcements-from-apple-wwdc-2010/

Apple TV has been a niche product to Apple due in part to their inability to control all the necessary devices.http://www.applegazette.com/steve-jobs/select-quotes-from-steve-jobs-at-d8/ Here is Steve Job at D8: "The problem with innovation in the TV industry is the go to market strategy. The TV industry has a subsidized model that gives everyone a set top box for free. So no one wants to buy a box. Ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us… ask Google in a few months. So all you can do is ADD a box to the TV. You just end up with a table full of remotes, a cluster of boxes… and that’s what we have today. The only way that’s going to change is if you tear up the set top box, give it a new UI, and get it in front of consumers in a way they’re going to want it. The TV is going to lose in our eyes until there is a better go to market strategy… otherwise you’re just making another TiVo."

There was no announcement from Apple at WWDC 2010 which wasn't a surprise. The new Apple TV, perhaps named Take 3 since its predecessor is Take 2, will presumably run iOS 4 and using an A4 chip. There will be upcoming events this fall where Apple might make such an announcement.

Engadget believes the television will be the next battle ground.http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/the-next-apple-tv-revealed-cloud-storage-and-iphone-os-on-tap/ Stay tuned ....

A revamped Apple TV is a possible candidate for announcing at WWDC.http://theappleblog.com/2010/06/04/wwdc-2010-predictions/ The announcement of Google TV puts pressure on Apple to do so.

The Apple Blog hopes that the next Apple TV will use the iPhone OS (now IOS 4) and A4 processor just as in the iPad and the new iPhone. Apple TV at 1080p could be called the Apple TV HD.http://theappleblog.com/2010/05/28/big-changes-ahead-for-apple-tv/ It is likely an all-in-one system that is "a set-top box that connects to a normal TV to bring extra media from the Web and elsewhere."http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0604/Analyst-Apple-to-make-all-in-one-TV

If the new Apple TV can remove the hard drive and rely on streaming only the cost could be substantially lowered to the $99 range - cloud-enabled would make sense at this point.http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/05/could-streaming-move-appletv-from-hobby-to-serious-business.ars

The concept is to allow customers to purchase movies, television shows, podcasts, YouTube video content, music, and more through iTunes as they normally would on a computer, then using the device make that content available to view on high-end television screens, such as HDTV. The device is a unit with significantly larger memory space than a typical computer, so that users can download and store content to watch at their leisure without taxing the existing disc space on their computer. Streaming of content is also a feature.

YouTube announced on January 15, 2009, that their online videos would be viewable on an assortment of devices including Apple TV, TiVo, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3.Techcrunch: YouTube Comes To The Wii And PS3, But Not Xbox

At the 2008 Macworld Conference Expo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs talked about significant updates to Apple TV, which he dubbed "Take Two". The concept allows for an all-new interface that allows users to download the above mentioned content without the need for a Mac or a PC. The user would do so directly through a subscription based service using the Apple TV unit as the host.

In 2007, Apple began selling a digital media receiver to consumers called Apple TV. The device allows for the user to play content from a variety of sources, such as the iTunes Store or from a local network, and projects the content onto a high-end output source, like an HDTV.

The first units shipped on March 21, 2007. This version of Apple TV used the Mac OS X Operating System and contained 256 MB DDR2 SDRAM memory. The original retail price was currently $299.