Apple to build new features into iPhone, Apple TV free of charge

[AppleInsider]

Apple said Wednesday it will leverage its proven capability in the area of software development to gradually add new software features and applications to its iPhone and Apple TV products free of charge, providing its customers with the "greatest possible experience."

"We are taking this bold step to leverage what we do best," chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said during a conference call with analysts and members of the media. He added that some of the new iPhone applications will be "entirely new applications."

Oppenheimer offered few additional details on the two-pronged initiative, but implied that the new features and applications would be made available through automatic software updates to both iPhone and Apple TV.

In order to account for the new features, Apple said it will document iPhone and Apple TV income through a subscription based accounting model, in which income will be distributed over a 24-month period. Payments from AT&T/Cingular will be reported on a quarterly basis.

During the call, executives for the Cupertino-based company also revealed that Apple retail store personnel are "putting a lot of energy into preparing for the launch" of iPhone and how to best market the revolutionary device to customers.

Although Apple has yet to begin taking iPhone orders through retail or its online store, it said to expect an announcement at a later date.

The company remains on track to introduce the device in Europe during the fourth calendar quarter (Oct. - Dec.) and Asia in 2008. In the United States, iPhones will be sold via Apple.com, Cingular.com, Apple retail stores, and Cingular/AT&T retail stores. They will not be sold through Cingular/AT&T partner stores such as Best Buy.

Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook would not comment on initial iPhone supply, explaining that the company had not yet begun manufacturing ramp of the device.

"It's very difficult to tell what demand is until you're shipping the product," he said.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[sandau]

I'd like to start with the iPod games on the Apple TV please. I just want Texas Hold'em!

And then add the widgets already. My wife wants the weather widget on the big screen in the morning along with some news.

[mgkwho]

It's spelled "you're."

-=|Mgkwho

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by sandau

I'd like to start with the iPod games on the Apple TV please. I just want Texas Hold'em!

And then add the widgets already. My wife wants the weather widget on the big screen in the morning along with some news.

Widgets sound interesting, but I don't think many of the games would work on AppleTV without reworking the wheel control, never mind that it would probably need an ARM emulator.

[marchhare]

How can they do this with this, but I had to pay $2 for 802.11n software?

[Mike Peel]

It could be because they're adding new software features, rather than a new hardware feature (which the 802.11n was, even if only had to be enabled by software).

Alternatively, in the case of the iPhone they could argue that the customer is continuing to pay for the device over time via the contract, so they can then add new features to it without having to charge extra. That couldn't apply to the iTV, though, so it's most likely the first.

[ecking]

Yes add more to the apple tv, that way asides from adding OSX hacking would be unnecessary. Then I'd buy one. Or they could just lower the price, then I'd also buy one.

[nevenmrgan]

"How can they do this with this, but I had to pay $2 for 802.11n software?"

They're switching to a "subscription model" for AppleTV and iPhone (this has nothing to do with "iTunes subscriptions" or anything like that; it's a financial term). This will allow them to do precisely that - roll out significant new features for existing and sold products at no charge to the customer.

They didn't do the same with the desktop line for complex reasons. In any case, long story short, AppleTV and iPhone may receive significant software updates for free. Yay!

[trevorlsciact]

when I red the title i thought apple would begiving away apple tvs with the iphone. oh, well.

[nevenmrgan]

The title here is a little misleading; they're not "building" new features in, they're rolling them out via software updates. If I had to guess, I'd say a typical such update would be, for instance, the ability to read RSS feeds on AppleTV or an additional application for iPhone.

One thing many are forgetting in their criticism of AppleTV and iPhone is that both of those are platforms quite a bit more open than, say, iPod. I expect that AppleTV and iPhone will be updated with both free AND for-pay updates which will bring significant improvements. The logistic and technical issues with both are much easier to overcome than with iPod - development will be done for OS X, not for the iPod platform, and both devices have much greater input and output capabilities than iPod.

[FreeState]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I don't think many of the games would work on AppleTV without reworking the wheel control, never mind that it would probably need an ARM emulator.

But games and much more are coming for sure. See you iTunes Localizable.strings file.

Manage your ATV files manually:

"4309.061" = "Are you sure you want to manually manage music on your Apple TV? You will need to manually eject your Apple TV before it can be disconnected safely.";
"4309.062" = "Are you sure you want to manually manage music and videos on your Apple TV? You will need to manually eject your Apple TV before it can be disconnected safely.";
"4309.063" = "Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music on your Apple TV? All existing content on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.";
"4309.064" = "Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music and videos on your Apple TV? All existing content on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.";


Use the hard drive as a hard drive like an iPod can:

"4309.065" = "Enabling the Apple TV for disk use requires manually ejecting the Apple TV before each disconnect, even when automatically syncing music.";
"4309.066" = "The software required for communicating with the Apple TV is not installed correctly. Please reinstall iTunes to install the Apple TV’s software.";

Voice memos from your iPhone:

"4309.071" = "Voice Memos";
"4309.073" = "The Apple TV “^1” contains new voice memos. Would you like to move these voice memos to your iTunes library?";
"4309.074" = "Moving voice memos to your iTunes library…";


Syncing of contacts, calendars, nikeplus data

(note this strings are found under the AppleTV Section even though they do not use the word AppleTV like the others)
"4309.127" = "Syncing contacts on “^1”…";
"4309.128" = "Syncing calendars on “^1”…";
"4309.129" = "Sending workout data to nikeplus.com…";
"4309.130" = "Downloading Nike*+*iPod voice kit…";
"4309.131" = "Installing Nike*+*iPod voice kit…";
"4309.132" = "Syncing contacts and calendars on “^1”…";

Games:

"4309.161" = "Are you sure you want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with games from this iTunes library.";
"4309.162" = "Are you sure you do not want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV “^1” will be removed.";
"4309.163" = "Syncing games on “^1”…";

Purchasing directly from ATV:

"4309.194" = "The Apple TV “^1” was not erased and synced because some iTunes Store purchases were not transferred to this iTunes library.";
"4309.195" = "Waiting for Apple TV…";

[johnsonwax]

Originally Posted by marchhare

How can they do this with this, but I had to pay $2 for 802.11n software?

Two reasons:

1) After the Performa PPC upgrade settlement, Apple agreed to never advertise a product as upgradable unless that upgrade was available at the time of purchase. The .11n upgrade wasn't available at the time.

2) Under Sarbanes-Oxley, the company needs to account for the costs of new features, which they cannot do after the sale is made. Hence, the 'subscription'. It's the same reason why iPod updates can't include features developed for newer iPods. Different companies interpret SO in different ways and Apple is generally pretty conservative on it.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by FreeState

But games and much more are coming for sure. See you iTunes Localizable.strings file.

Nicely done! Lots of cool new functionality to look forward to!

[Celemourn]

Ok, now I'm going to go ahead and work on the assumption (which may be wrong) that Sarbanes-Oxley was a good idea, for some reason. Someone want to clue me in on what that was? It seems to be more of a pain in the ass for the consumer in this particular circumstance.

[GregAlexander]

Originally Posted by marchhare

How can they do this with this, but I had to pay $2 for 802.11n software?

New laws forced Apple to charge for the upgrade. Ludicrous.

By accounting for each sale quarterly, Apple can report that the users HAVE paid for an upgrade (as long as they don't upgrade more than once a quarter, perhaps?)

[MacCheech]

Although Apple has yet to begin taking iPhone orders through retail or its online store, it said to expect an announcement at a later date. The company remains on track to introduce the device in Europe during the fourth calendar quarter (Oct. - Dec.) and Asia in 2008.

I wish Apple would include information for a Canadian introduction date. After all, Europe and Asia are kind of far away in comparaison to your friendly northern neighbor. For myself, it will be very hard and frustrating having a US launch (yet so close and yet so far) and not able to put my hand on the very coveted iPhone before many months, imagine if Europe or Asia have it at a earlier date than Canada (nightmare).

[nevenmrgan]

Sarbanes-Oxley is... complex. Very broadly speaking, it was supposed to reinstate confidence in accounting practices in the US by introducing new standards and regulations. It has numerous provisions, all presumably designed to make business and accounting more, well, accountable. This specific issue with Apple is, as pointed out, a consequence of their reading of what they need to report and how.

[vinney57]

Originally Posted by johnsonwax

Different companies interpret SO in different ways and Apple is generally pretty conservative on it.

Adobe have made the same interpretation as Apple.

[mrpiddly]

I really want the iphone to support mobile open GL, i dont know the name. Through that some less damanding computer games have ben played on pocket pcs.

[josephwinters]

Here's what I've been dying to find out...

When apple releases the iphone, and I buy a phone... am I going to go through a "credit check" as well?

Generally when you buy a phone with contract, you are subject to credit checks....


Not to say my credit is bad, but do you think thats going to happen?... Or maybe I'll be able to walk into the apple store, buy a $600 phone, and be automatically placed into a contract without a credit check...

ugh. So people that "don't pass" then what? heh... :-/ sorry im sporatic, i dont know if im asking this correctly.

sigh.

[nevenmrgan]

If Cingular requires a credit check, then I'm assuming Apple will be running those during the purchase/signup. It will probably be similar to the current Juniper Visa process, or perhaps even more streamlined.

I envision a dedicated iPhone counter where you'll be asked a few questions - are you currently a Cingular customer? Are you still under contract? Would you like to keep your current phone number? Here, fill out this application (on a Mac, not on - ugh - paper).

Another great thing would be if you could sign up online for a spot at the iPhone signup counter, Concierge-style.

[satchmo]

I wonder if this announcement has anything to do with the generally less than stellar press reviews of the AppleTV.

[nevenmrgan]

I'd wonder that, too, if the reviews were really generally less than stellar.

[EagerDragon]

Originally Posted by nevenmrgan

Sarbanes-Oxley is... complex. Very broadly speaking, it was supposed to reinstate confidence in accounting practices in the US by introducing new standards and regulations. It has numerous provisions, all presumably designed to make business and accounting more, well, accountable. This specific issue with Apple is, as pointed out, a consequence of their reading of what they need to report and how.

Correct, I has little to do with consumers, it has more to do with stock market confidence on the accounting practices of a corporation.

[EagerDragon]

Originally Posted by satchmo

I wonder if this announcement has anything to do with the generally less than stellar press reviews of the AppleTV.

Maybe, but I think is a dead on target with the issue of the device not being extendable and closed.

Then again it could be simply that they had all these plans in the works (for the particular software) but not sufficient time and personnel to complete it by release date, so instead they will complete the software within 2 years, and release it as it becomes ready, LOL.

[FreeState]

Originally Posted by EagerDragon

Then again it could be simply that they had all these plans in the works (for the particular software) but not sufficient time and personnel to complete it by release date, so instead they will complete the software within 2 years, and release it as it becomes ready, LOL.

I think you are right. iTunes files are littered with reference to functions the ATV has yet to implement. Generally Apple does not put in these references until the functionality it supports is implemented. That the references are still there implies, to me, that they had to pull people off the development for some reason and they just left the localized files intact. It may not be just Leopard that had people pulled - iTunes and AppleTV both will interact with iPhone so I speculates that they are helping with the iPhone and then will come back to the ATV, Im not sure but Apple might even use the same developers for iTunes/AppleTV/iPhone because its in the same department.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by marchhare

How can they do this with this, but I had to pay $2 for 802.11n software?

You're joking, right?

A specification that isn't finalized and you want it turned on for free? How many cell phones have you had that are not locked in with your provider? The phone can be opened up but you don't get that for free and they aren't based upon some specification in flux.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by FreeState

But games and much more are coming for sure. See you iTunes Localizable.strings file.

Manage your ATV files manually:

"4309.061" = "Are you sure you want to manually manage music on your Apple TV? You will need to manually eject your Apple TV before it can be disconnected safely.";
"4309.062" = "Are you sure you want to manually manage music and videos on your Apple TV? You will need to manually eject your Apple TV before it can be disconnected safely.";
"4309.063" = "Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music on your Apple TV? All existing content on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.";
"4309.064" = "Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music and videos on your Apple TV? All existing content on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.";


Use the hard drive as a hard drive like an iPod can:

"4309.065" = "Enabling the Apple TV for disk use requires manually ejecting the Apple TV before each disconnect, even when automatically syncing music.";
"4309.066" = "The software required for communicating with the Apple TV is not installed correctly. Please reinstall iTunes to install the Apple TV’s software.";

Voice memos from your iPhone:

"4309.071" = "Voice Memos";
"4309.073" = "The Apple TV “^1” contains new voice memos. Would you like to move these voice memos to your iTunes library?";
"4309.074" = "Moving voice memos to your iTunes library…";


Syncing of contacts, calendars, nikeplus data

(note this strings are found under the AppleTV Section even though they do not use the word AppleTV like the others)
"4309.127" = "Syncing contacts on “^1”…";
"4309.128" = "Syncing calendars on “^1”…";
"4309.129" = "Sending workout data to nikeplus.com…";
"4309.130" = "Downloading Nike*+*iPod voice kit…";
"4309.131" = "Installing Nike*+*iPod voice kit…";
"4309.132" = "Syncing contacts and calendars on “^1”…";

Games:

"4309.161" = "Are you sure you want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV “^1” will be replaced with games from this iTunes library.";
"4309.162" = "Are you sure you do not want to sync games? All existing games on the Apple TV “^1” will be removed.";
"4309.163" = "Syncing games on “^1”…";

Purchasing directly from ATV:

"4309.194" = "The Apple TV “^1” was not erased and synced because some iTunes Store purchases were not transferred to this iTunes library.";
"4309.195" = "Waiting for Apple TV…";

Your analysis is flawed. You might note that these same strings are all listed under both the iPod section (4300) and the mobile phone section (4301). Did you even read what you copied because some of the messages don't even make sense? Like the nike+ messages, 4309.130 and 131. What good would nike+ software do on the AppleTV? Or 4309.062, about having to eject the AppleTV? Why would have to eject the AppleTV since it is never directly connected to the source computer? All it shows is that all these messages are kept in sync between the various sections.

[FreeState]

Originally Posted by caliminius

Your analysis is flawed. You might note that these same strings are all listed under both the iPod section (4300) and the mobile phone section (4301). Did you even read what you copied because some of the messages don't even make sense?

No I just cut and pasted it with out reading it cause Im blind. /sarcasm

If you compare the sections that have similar strings you will notice they all actually do the functions in the real world except for the games on the phone.

Originally Posted by caliminius

Like the nike+ messages, 4309.130 and 131. What good would nike+ software do on the AppleTV?

I know a lot of runners that would love to see there progress on their TV's- there is a lot that can be done with this in the future.

Originally Posted by caliminius

Or 4309.062, about having to eject the AppleTV? Why would have to eject the AppleTV since it is never directly connected to the source computer? .

Ever connected to another computer on the network? You have to eject it when you are done.

Originally Posted by caliminius

All it shows is that all these messages are kept in sync between the various sections.

Well that would be true, however if you go and look at the actual file its not kept in sync between the different sections at all.

[jonessodarally]

Originally Posted by FreeState

No I just cut and pasted it with out reading it cause Im blind. /sarcasm

If you compare the sections that have similar strings you will notice they all actually do the functions in the real world except for the games on the phone.

I know a lot of runners that would love to see there progress on their TV's- there is a lot that can be done with this in the future.

Ever connected to another computer on the network? You have to eject it when you are done.

Well that would be true, however if you go and look at the actual file its not kept in sync between the different sections at all.

I don't know either way (obviously) but it seems to me like... with the way they market the AppleTV with the iPod line so thoroughly, it would make sense if they wrote all the iTunes coding for it in the same fashion. I mean, if you go through the snippets you found, you can replace "AppleTV" with "iPod" and it makes perfect sense.

Maybe they tossed the code into Microsoft Word and just did a "Find and Replace.." on the whole thing.

[ddarko]

Originally Posted by vinney57

Adobe have made the same interpretation as Apple.

I don't know about Adobe but Apple's explanation is BS.

The ONLY thing the accounting rules required Apple to do was to figure out a value for the n upgrade so the value could be booked on Apple's balance sheet. That's it: figure out how much this upgrade is worth. But what Apple did was more than set a value; it decided to capture that value from customers by actually charging $1.99 for the upgrade. Charging customer was NOT REQUIRED for the accounting obligations. The rules say Apple had to figure out a value for the n upgrade; it doesn't say forcing customers to cough up a real fee was the only way to determine that value. It could have said the upgrade is worth X amount and then booked it on their balance sheets. End of story, accounting rules satisfied. It's misleading bordering on lying for Apple to say that it was forced by accounting rules to charge customers. Not true, the only thing Apple is required to do is set a value. It decided to charge customers all on its own. Accounting had nothing to do with that decision. If you want a decent explanation for this, check out this news.com article:

http://news.com.com/Apples+802.11n+a...3-6151790.html

[JeffDM]

(in relation to a now deleted comment made by the genetic mistake above regarding the topic being in red):

It's an automatic feature based on how many replies a thread gets in a certain amount of time. What you probably did by replying is made it last longer. And I extended it again just to please you.

[ddarko]

I think you've confused the administrator with the green aliens in black helicopters who are stealing your mind. Don't forget to put your aluminum helmet back on.

[JeffDM]

The title of post #32 still remains.

[grahamw]

Beat you to it Jeff.

[Superbass]

It's hard to tell if this is a case of them adding value to the product after people have purchased it, or shipping a product before it's complete and finishing it afterwards via software updates...

In the case of ATv, it's really as though they shipped an incomplete product package and now are (hopefully) going to finish it by increasing it's limited functionality.

Their press releases always have such a wonderful slant on them. What if Windows released a statement saying that Vista would include free updates to functionality - would you all be so glowing in your response? I mean, SP1 and SP2 greatly improved the feature set, useability, etc. of XP... isn't that the same thing?

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Celemourn

Ok, now I'm going to go ahead and work on the assumption (which may be wrong) that Sarbanes-Oxley was a good idea, for some reason. Someone want to clue me in on what that was? It seems to be more of a pain in the ass for the consumer in this particular circumstance.

Apple's choices have nothing to do with S/O directly.

They chose to do it that way.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by satchmo

I wonder if this announcement has anything to do with the generally less than stellar press reviews of the AppleTV.

Which less than stellar reviews are you talking about? I haven't seen any.

All the reviews I saw were pretty good. The only things they wondered about was when Apple would offer HD from iTunes, which has nothing to do with the ATv itself, and if Apple would have the device import more file types.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by grahamw

Beat you to it Jeff.

Dang! I hate reading about posts that don't exist.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Superbass

It's hard to tell if this is a case of them adding value to the product after people have purchased it, or shipping a product before it's complete and finishing it afterwards via software updates...

In the case of ATv, it's really as though they shipped an incomplete product package and now are (hopefully) going to finish it by increasing it's limited functionality.

Their press releases always have such a wonderful slant on them. What if Windows released a statement saying that Vista would include free updates to functionality - would you all be so glowing in your response? I mean, SP1 and SP2 greatly improved the feature set, useability, etc. of XP... isn't that the same thing?

We don't know that the ATv isn't finished. According to the reviews I've read, it seems to do just what it's been advertised to do.

This is an open system, just as the iPhone, and Apple's computers are, and to a certain extent the iPods are as well. They are designed to be upgraded.

By the way "Windows" doesn't release any statements, it's only a program.