Good luck Amazon, hopefully this will put a little pressure on Apple to evolve the current AppleTV.
Huh? There have been numerous reports this year that Apple does have a big update planned for Apple TV. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple announces it at WWDC.
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Remember that AppleTV is a hobby for Apple. It's not a way for them to test the water for a potential "all in" investment. They know that everyone and his brother is going to blindly follow their lead regardless of the potential profitability of the market so they carefully protect the investments that are most important to them. Apple TV is not one of those. It fills an incremental niche that makes iTunes customers happier with their investments in the Apple ecosystem but it's not a game changer. The fact that Amazon and Google are jumping in whole hog is unsurprising because they can't seem to come up with any game changing products or services of their own, so copying Apple's hobby projects are better than what they can do on their own. It's kind of sad when you think about the tens of thousands of spectacular minds that those companies have in house - yet this is all they seem able to do? Me too innovation?
Also, don't judge Apple's motivations based on the value systems of other companies. They are not out for world domination or to bury their competitors who play fair. They highly value their competitors because their competitors (the ones who play fair) provide a means to benchmark the value of Apple products and services that are built to Apple's standards. So far this strategy of playing by their own set of rules seems to be paying off fairly well. Not that Apple doesn't have its share of swing & miss products, like Ping, but in areas where they go "all in" they seem to do well. Apple TV in its current form is not an "all in" effort by Apple.
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Well it's a good thing that there's still three more seasons to go in the year
Apple should have done this over a yr ago. They could have dominated the market. Now it will be more difficult. They will be late to the game.
Are you so sure?
Being first didn't stop Andy "I guess we're not gonna ship that phone" Rubin's Android from steamrollering over the iPhone--at least if you believe The official Fandroid Version of the Apple-Is-Losing story.
Amazon is the only player that can beat Apple at Apple's Game. Because they are all about the customer experience.
This is to be expected. As movie theaters die, and bandwidth becomes commodity, content on demand will be a battle between Apple, Cable, and Amazon.
Netflix is a one trick pony competing with the networks. Apple and Amazon are competing against all distribution/payment networks.
It's not a 2 or 3 horse race, yet. There's also PSN, Xbox Live content, Redbox, and Google Play.
I have an Amazon Prime account and Netflix. Amazon Prime needs work. The software is not sophisticated enough to determine one's internet connection and adjust the video quality accordingly, which Netflix excels at. Amazon is also trying its hand at original programming. I watched one of the shows, I think called Bosch. It was pretty good, but unlike Netflix's very good original content I have been waiting weeks for the next episode. Netflix has it right, release everything at once. I also am on the $49 dollar Amazon plan, I would not pay more when the selection on Netflix with a few exceptions is better. Prime shipping is not a big draw for me, when Amazon has other free shipping options.
With all that said, I also do not understand why people care terribly about the lack of an Amazon app on the Apple TV. It would be nice, but it is not a deal breaker for me. Just download the Amazon app to one's iPhone or iPad and stream it via airplay. I do this, and it works fine. Sure, I have to pick up my other iDevice, but it still works great.
It's not a 2 or 3 horse race, yet. There's also PSN, Xbox Live content, Redbox, and Google Play.
I just canceled my X-Box live membership. I can't stand how Microsoft wants me to pay a yearly fee to watch content from services like Netflix. Sure, I get multiplayer gaming is included, but that should be its own fee. I am curious to know how Redbox's streaming service compares with Netflix. I hate Verizon, so I am hesitant to give it a try.
Being first didn't stop Andy "I guess we're not gonna ship that phone" Rubin's Android from steamrollering over the iPhone--at least if you believe The official Fandroid Version of the Apple-Is-Losing story.
It also didn't stop Apple from releasing its own phone when there were plenty of other options. The strength of Apple's TV in my view is the tight integration with Apple's other products. Air play is a huge feature that works extremely well with Apple's other products. Often times when my girlfriend and I are competing for high scores on games like Subway surfer we will stream the games to the TV, lots of fun.
I just canceled my X-Box live membership. I can't stand how Microsoft wants me to pay a yearly fee to watch content from services like Netflix. Sure, I get multiplayer gaming is included, but that should be its own fee. I am curious to know how Redbox's streaming service compares with Netflix. I hate Verizon, so I am hesitant to give it a try.
Precisely why I went a a Playstation. Ridiculous to pay a yearly fee just to use an app like Netflix that has nothing to do with gaming.
Where does it get power? I assume that plugs into the HDMI. Is there a cable that plugs into the USB for power?
If it's like the Chromecast it looks like it can get power over HDMI (which seems to be rare) or with a micro-USB-to-USB-A cable (likely provided) which plugs into the back, opposite end from the HDMI connector.
Bezos sacrificed half a dozen virgins last week to store some up. He should invest in a more efficient ritual. A good virgin should be able to power the entire first run of these devices.
If it's like the Chromecast it looks like it can get power over HDMI (which seems to be rare) or there is a small port on the device for a power-port-to-USB cable.
Sorry, earlier I missed your question about the image I linked. MStone mentioned it too. No, the image simply represents what the Amazon TV form is expected to be based on "those in the know".
Sorry, earlier I missed your question about the image I linked. MStone mentioned it too. No, the image simply represents what the Amazon TV form is expected to be based on "those in the know".
So it's expected to be a rebranded Chromecast with Amazon's SW? Not a bad way to go since Chromecast works great but I would have expected Amazon to do their own thing, not pull a MS/Creative Zen/Zune.
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Comments
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Also, don't judge Apple's motivations based on the value systems of other companies. They are not out for world domination or to bury their competitors who play fair. They highly value their competitors because their competitors (the ones who play fair) provide a means to benchmark the value of Apple products and services that are built to Apple's standards. So far this strategy of playing by their own set of rules seems to be paying off fairly well. Not that Apple doesn't have its share of swing & miss products, like Ping, but in areas where they go "all in" they seem to do well. Apple TV in its current form is not an "all in" effort by Apple.
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Well it's a good thing that there's still three more seasons to go in the year
Apple might do well to surprise announce the 4th generation Apple TV the day before Amazon's announcement.
Are you so sure?
Being first didn't stop Andy "I guess we're not gonna ship that phone" Rubin's Android from steamrollering over the iPhone--at least if you believe The official Fandroid Version of the Apple-Is-Losing story.
Amazon is the only player that can beat Apple at Apple's Game. Because they are all about the customer experience.
This is to be expected. As movie theaters die, and bandwidth becomes commodity, content on demand will be a battle between Apple, Cable, and Amazon.
Netflix is a one trick pony competing with the networks. Apple and Amazon are competing against all distribution/payment networks.
It's not a 2 or 3 horse race, yet. There's also PSN, Xbox Live content, Redbox, and Google Play.
I have an Amazon Prime account and Netflix. Amazon Prime needs work. The software is not sophisticated enough to determine one's internet connection and adjust the video quality accordingly, which Netflix excels at. Amazon is also trying its hand at original programming. I watched one of the shows, I think called Bosch. It was pretty good, but unlike Netflix's very good original content I have been waiting weeks for the next episode. Netflix has it right, release everything at once. I also am on the $49 dollar Amazon plan, I would not pay more when the selection on Netflix with a few exceptions is better. Prime shipping is not a big draw for me, when Amazon has other free shipping options.
With all that said, I also do not understand why people care terribly about the lack of an Amazon app on the Apple TV. It would be nice, but it is not a deal breaker for me. Just download the Amazon app to one's iPhone or iPad and stream it via airplay. I do this, and it works fine. Sure, I have to pick up my other iDevice, but it still works great.
It's not a 2 or 3 horse race, yet. There's also PSN, Xbox Live content, Redbox, and Google Play.
I just canceled my X-Box live membership. I can't stand how Microsoft wants me to pay a yearly fee to watch content from services like Netflix. Sure, I get multiplayer gaming is included, but that should be its own fee. I am curious to know how Redbox's streaming service compares with Netflix. I hate Verizon, so I am hesitant to give it a try.
Are you so sure?
Being first didn't stop Andy "I guess we're not gonna ship that phone" Rubin's Android from steamrollering over the iPhone--at least if you believe The official Fandroid Version of the Apple-Is-Losing story.
It also didn't stop Apple from releasing its own phone when there were plenty of other options. The strength of Apple's TV in my view is the tight integration with Apple's other products. Air play is a huge feature that works extremely well with Apple's other products. Often times when my girlfriend and I are competing for high scores on games like Subway surfer we will stream the games to the TV, lots of fun.
I wondered why Amazon Instant Video was not available on Apple TV, maybe an Apple decision, so they are rolling their own instead?
I assume there's no Amazon channel on AppleTV because they are direct competitors to the iTunes store in pay per view stuff.
I just Airplay Amazon Prime from my iPad or iPhone. I have Prime and Netflix because they don't compete so much as compliment one another.
I just canceled my X-Box live membership. I can't stand how Microsoft wants me to pay a yearly fee to watch content from services like Netflix. Sure, I get multiplayer gaming is included, but that should be its own fee. I am curious to know how Redbox's streaming service compares with Netflix. I hate Verizon, so I am hesitant to give it a try.
Precisely why I went a a Playstation. Ridiculous to pay a yearly fee just to use an app like Netflix that has nothing to do with gaming.
Dang, the expected form-factor looks so familiar. . .
There's also claims one of the biggest focuses will be streamed gaming. That could be a biggie.
Is that really how it looks?
Where does it get power? I assume that plugs into the HDMI. Is there a cable that plugs into the USB for power?
If it's like the Chromecast it looks like it can get power over HDMI (which seems to be rare) or with a micro-USB-to-USB-A cable (likely provided) which plugs into the back, opposite end from the HDMI connector.
Bezos sacrificed half a dozen virgins last week to store some up. He should invest in a more efficient ritual. A good virgin should be able to power the entire first run of these devices.
Sorry, earlier I missed your question about the image I linked. MStone mentioned it too. No, the image simply represents what the Amazon TV form is expected to be based on "those in the know".
So it's expected to be a rebranded Chromecast with Amazon's SW? Not a bad way to go since Chromecast works great but I would have expected Amazon to do their own thing, not pull a MS/Creative Zen/Zune.
So much for all the wonderful products Tim Cook said Apple would be releasing this year. Here we are with Spring around the corner and… nothing so far. No iPhone, no iPad, no iWatch, no Mac, no iTV, no iPod, no nothing.
Geez man, we're only in month 3 out of 12!