Cost | Specs | What to Enjoy | Features | Video | News & Updates | Sales Info | Press Releases | Buy | Editor’s Assessment
Specs: 160GB hard drive for up to 200 hrs of video; Mac + PC; 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless
What to enjoy:
Apple TV 3.0 new menu interface.
As more and more consumers buy and rent movies via Apple’s iTunes store, Apple really needs to push Apple TV, their set-top box that serves as an entertainment hub that syncs directly up to your iTunes account, allowing you to rent or buy movies or TV shows, which can then be downloaded to watch on your TV.
The new 3.0 upgrade for Apple TV adds a new menu interface (seen above), as well as plenty of HD content for your viewing pleasure. With Apple TV 3.0, you can enjoy expanded feature formats in the form of iTunes LP (complete liner notes, lyrics, bonus tracks, photos, etc.) and iTunes Extras (bonus material – featurettes, deleted scenes, special making-of documentaries, etc.). The upgrade also incorporates Genius from iTunes, and Internet Radio.
Third-Party Features:
Apple TV connects from your TV to your Mac or PC; and with access to iTunes, you can rent and purchase movies and TV shows, and download them directly for immediate playback. The box comes packaged with access to YouTube. An add-on gives you access to Boxee. However, even with the new upgrade, Apple TV is still short on adding support for Netflix Instant or Hulu or Amazon Video On-Demand. However, you can still enjoy your iTunes music and movies, and you can also stream in Pandora, Apple’s MobileMe, and Flickr.
Find more information on their website
News & Updates:
Macworld (10/30/2009): First Look: Apple TV 3.0 – “Thursday’s release of Apple TV 3.0 software doesn’t do a lot to change that, but for the unknown number of people who have bought an Apple TV box over the past two and a half years, it seems to be a pleasant improvement that addresses some lingering interface issues while adding whole new levels of mystery about exactly what (if anything) Apple is going to do with the product.” {Read more}
AppleInsider (06/24/2009): Apple updates Apple TV, Remote app to allow multi-touch control – “Apple breathed some new life into its Apple TV media hub on Wednesday with upgrades to both its firmware and the iPhone’s Remote app that let owners control the wireless media hub through multi-touch input on their handheld’s touch-screen.” {Read More}
Sales Info & Figures:
Ars Technica (02/19/2009): Preliminary Q2 figures suggest Apple weathering recession – “Now that we’re more than halfway through the first calendar quarter of 2009 (which is the second fiscal quarter for Apple), analysts are consulting preliminary sales numbers in order to offer an early indication of how Apple is doing.” {Read More}
Latest Press Releases:
01/15/2008: Apple Introduces New Apple TV Software & Lowers Price to $229
Buy:
Apple TV with 160GB Hard Drive
Editor’s Assessment:
Although sometimes called Apple’s forgotten child, the Apple TV integrates movies through itunes to the television quite well and, with a link up to boxee, the Apple TV proves to be a worthy purchase in digital media. Yet with limited amount of updates since its release buyers may be weary of what they see will only be what they get…
