Apple’s iTV: Are they serious?
Apple announced the iTV -- a set top box that will play iTunes movies and shows on your TV. Details are blurry at the moment, since it was just announced hours ago and it won’t ship until 2007, but from what I understand it’s 300 bucks but still requires you own a computer and have it turned on and running. I think I’d be fine with that but I don’t think that’s going to fly with the iPod generation.
Jane: “Hey! The movie stopped playing! What happened?”
Dan: “Tommy wanted to play World of Warcraft.”*
Actually, at that price point it’s gotta have a hard drive in it, considering iPods are virtually the same price. I guess the computer is needed simply for browsing and buying the movies. Still, it seems pretty expensive for the solution it’s providing, which is getting computer video onto your TV. On a related note: Congrats to my friend Jeff, who I believe worked on the iTV’s UI (although I don’t actually know that for a fact).
*other possible line: The iBook caught on fire
01/09/07 UPDATE:
Apple released the tech specs for iTV AppleTV and it does indeed include a 40gb hard drive. Is that enough to store all your movies on? I’m not sure, but it’s better than nothing.
I'm Hanford Lemoore. My parking skills are unparalleled.
