Even if this data is suspect, Roku is definitely enjoying success. So fight back, Apple, by updating the Apple TV and giving it more capabilities. Running Apps would be a natural start.
The whole Streaming Instead of Owning thing is definitely hurting Apple right now.
The focus has got to be, content, cloud, apps, across all your gizmos seamlessly.
Handoff should work from iPhone to Mac to Apple TV.
Start playing a game or streaming a movie on your phone, continue on iPad, then play it on Apple TV.
And yet they've done more for the Apple TV in the past year than in previous years, have gleefully announced the sales data, and have given it its own button on the Apple Store. Good luck on your hypothesis of it being canned or never being updated again like the iPod Classic.
It was a joke, but if you seriously think Apple has done anything meaningful compared to its competition in the past year, then you've really got your head in the sand. Apple has fallen way behind here.
Whooo-Hooo!!!! It got its very own button on the Apple Store. As someone who already owns a half-dozen Apple TVs, that really makes me feel a lot better about them. Ya, that's almost like Amazon's Fire TV with the app store, free games, free movies and tv shows for Prime Members, and a fully functional controller.
And announcing the sales data... now with glee! I guess the added glee makes up for the decline in market share versus Roku.
Will it be canned/never updated? I highly doubt it, but it's already been thoroughly neglected in terms of what was available to Apple in ways to potentially upgrade the hardware and service offerings while the competition has taken advantage of this resulting in decreased market share in an area where Apple should've easily have dominated.
I have had an AppleTV for about six months now. I don't usually buy/rent movies from iTunes, but the Airplay/mirroring feature, playback of photostream and other libraries, and the few free content channels (including Youtube), have been enough for me. I do wish there were more content channels though. I think Roku has a minor advantage there.
Recently, I went ahead and got a BluRay player now that they are cheap and the BD discs themselves are common and relatively cheap too. Anyway, as most of these BD players are network enabled "smart" players, I found a Sony for ~$85 from Bestbuy. (I guess I really am a cheap guy). I was impressed by how many content "channels" there were in this thing and the fact that it actually included a browser (which somewhat surprisingly, ATV does not). I actually wondered whether the Sony BD player was a better deal, but then I actually tried using the "smart" features. What a freaking bust. The interface is ridiculously laggy and the browser is pretty much un-usable. Oh well. But it does play BD discs quite nicely, so I'm good.
This got me thinking about what direction the ATV might go. Apps and a browser would be good, although there are interface issues to sort out. Another idea would be to integrate the Time Capsule with ATV. This would be something like the original ATV, but with WiFi and automated backup built-in. To sweeten the pot, why not build in a Docsis modem, so you could just plug it into your cable? Instant home network, backup, and media player.
Now for "creeping featurism"... If you can plug it into the cable, why not build in a tuner? And while you are at it, an external HDMI input or two (for BD player and game console)?
In the commercial realm, there is already a device that comes pretty close to all this from a company called Enseo. I don't have any relation with them, but my company has installed a few along the way. An easy-to-use consumer version of their set top box that could manage a home AV system could be pretty awesome.
Nobody (general public) knows what an Apple TV is. How would they?
Everyone I know who has bought a Roku (over an Apple TV), has bought it so they could have Netflix. Nuff said.
Yet my Dad, who I have been completely unable to persuade over to the Apple way of doing things, has an Apple TV. Surprised, I asked him why he bought it. Netflix. Go figure.
I wonder if he can stream movies to it from his Dell via iTunes?
That is interesting (given his feeling). The question you should have asked him (given his feeling) is "How come you didn't buy a Roku"?
Everybody I know who has a Roku (or had a Roku until I showed them the additional benefits of ATV) are all Mac people. They just didn't really know much about ATV; and Roku is what they see in Bestbuy, and in Tech review articles, etc. So that's what they bought.
For the record, he's not ANTI-Apple, he loves the features of an Apple eco-system, he just can't believe how much a Mac costs, likes the 17" screen he has now, and doesn't feel like learning a new operating system. The argument that "Mac is easier" assumes one is starting from scratch. If one already knows Windows well but has never used a Mac, the Mac is actually gonna be harder for a while purely as a result of being different and unfamiliar.
But that's not the case at all and misses the problem Apple has. I knew everything about the Apple TV as well as every other option when I walked in the Best Buy and walked out with my Roku and I've never regretted it. And, as I said earlier, we're an entirely Mac family for computers, tablets and smartphones yet Apple couldn't sway me at the time. Their motto at the time was:
Comments
Even if this data is suspect, Roku is definitely enjoying success. So fight back, Apple, by updating the Apple TV and giving it more capabilities. Running Apps would be a natural start.
The whole Streaming Instead of Owning thing is definitely hurting Apple right now.
The focus has got to be, content, cloud, apps, across all your gizmos seamlessly.
Handoff should work from iPhone to Mac to Apple TV.
Start playing a game or streaming a movie on your phone, continue on iPad, then play it on Apple TV.
And yet they've done more for the Apple TV in the past year than in previous years, have gleefully announced the sales data, and have given it its own button on the Apple Store. Good luck on your hypothesis of it being canned or never being updated again like the iPod Classic.
It was a joke, but if you seriously think Apple has done anything meaningful compared to its competition in the past year, then you've really got your head in the sand. Apple has fallen way behind here.
Whooo-Hooo!!!! It got its very own button on the Apple Store. As someone who already owns a half-dozen Apple TVs, that really makes me feel a lot better about them. Ya, that's almost like Amazon's Fire TV with the app store, free games, free movies and tv shows for Prime Members, and a fully functional controller.
And announcing the sales data... now with glee! I guess the added glee makes up for the decline in market share versus Roku.
Will it be canned/never updated? I highly doubt it, but it's already been thoroughly neglected in terms of what was available to Apple in ways to potentially upgrade the hardware and service offerings while the competition has taken advantage of this resulting in decreased market share in an area where Apple should've easily have dominated.
I have had an AppleTV for about six months now. I don't usually buy/rent movies from iTunes, but the Airplay/mirroring feature, playback of photostream and other libraries, and the few free content channels (including Youtube), have been enough for me. I do wish there were more content channels though. I think Roku has a minor advantage there.
Recently, I went ahead and got a BluRay player now that they are cheap and the BD discs themselves are common and relatively cheap too. Anyway, as most of these BD players are network enabled "smart" players, I found a Sony for ~$85 from Bestbuy. (I guess I really am a cheap guy). I was impressed by how many content "channels" there were in this thing and the fact that it actually included a browser (which somewhat surprisingly, ATV does not). I actually wondered whether the Sony BD player was a better deal, but then I actually tried using the "smart" features. What a freaking bust. The interface is ridiculously laggy and the browser is pretty much un-usable. Oh well. But it does play BD discs quite nicely, so I'm good.
This got me thinking about what direction the ATV might go. Apps and a browser would be good, although there are interface issues to sort out. Another idea would be to integrate the Time Capsule with ATV. This would be something like the original ATV, but with WiFi and automated backup built-in. To sweeten the pot, why not build in a Docsis modem, so you could just plug it into your cable? Instant home network, backup, and media player.
Now for "creeping featurism"... If you can plug it into the cable, why not build in a tuner? And while you are at it, an external HDMI input or two (for BD player and game console)?
In the commercial realm, there is already a device that comes pretty close to all this from a company called Enseo. I don't have any relation with them, but my company has installed a few along the way. An easy-to-use consumer version of their set top box that could manage a home AV system could be pretty awesome.
Nobody (general public) knows what an Apple TV is. How would they?
Everyone I know who has bought a Roku (over an Apple TV), has bought it so they could have Netflix. Nuff said.
Yet my Dad, who I have been completely unable to persuade over to the Apple way of doing things, has an Apple TV. Surprised, I asked him why he bought it. Netflix. Go figure.
I wonder if he can stream movies to it from his Dell via iTunes?
That is interesting (given his feeling). The question you should have asked him (given his feeling) is "How come you didn't buy a Roku"?
Everybody I know who has a Roku (or had a Roku until I showed them the additional benefits of ATV) are all Mac people. They just didn't really know much about ATV; and Roku is what they see in Bestbuy, and in Tech review articles, etc. So that's what they bought.
They just didn't really know much about ATV; and Roku is what they see in Bestbuy, and in Tech review articles, etc. So that's what they bought.
I like that.
Roku: For people who don’t know better™
That is interesting (given his feeling).
For the record, he's not ANTI-Apple, he loves the features of an Apple eco-system, he just can't believe how much a Mac costs, likes the 17" screen he has now, and doesn't feel like learning a new operating system. The argument that "Mac is easier" assumes one is starting from scratch. If one already knows Windows well but has never used a Mac, the Mac is actually gonna be harder for a while purely as a result of being different and unfamiliar.
I like that.
Roku: For people who don’t know better™
But that's not the case at all and misses the problem Apple has. I knew everything about the Apple TV as well as every other option when I walked in the Best Buy and walked out with my Roku and I've never regretted it. And, as I said earlier, we're an entirely Mac family for computers, tablets and smartphones yet Apple couldn't sway me at the time. Their motto at the time was:
Apple TV: For people who like to go on faith