Comments on: Why Apple TV is finally starting to matter

By: JLB

JLB — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:50:23 +0000

Nope, Xbox is just another ‘me-too’ product in this space.
The thing is a brilliant game machine yes, but as a video device?? Hopeless.
Aside from the fact that it is as loud as our vacuum cleaner just trying to pick up the controller in the dark without hitting a joystick and going to the next chapter is a challenge.

By: MikeGRad6

MikeGRad6 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:17:59 +0000

Great insights in this piece. It puts AppleTV in perspective coming out of CES. There is nothing to indicate that AppleTV couldn’t blow up on the mainstream market like the Ipod or Ipad of course but this article balances that hype with some very practical counterpoints.
Great piece.

Michael Girard
Community Engagement, Radian6

By: akonan

akonan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:32:06 +0000

Disagree. Relevant.

By: billsheppard2

billsheppard2 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:29:16 +0000

Built into the TV doesn’t make much of a difference – the upgrade cycles are too slow. Attaching a small box via one HDMI cable isn’t the same burden which attaching a device a few years ago via multiple A/V cables was, and remote integration (or smartphone control) has gotten much better.

By: digitalideation

digitalideation — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:37:45 +0000

It’s a slippery slope, but what if Apple doesn’t really want to sell a TV device – the economics of the business just are not that good… But if they march down the path of building one, they put the entire TV industry in a defensive mode when they have no way of defending, and if they appear serious enough, they could form partnerships with the TV manufacturers who don’t want them to build that TV (in the same way as they did with car manufacturers to get iPod jacks in autos) that gets their AirPlay protocols baked into future TVs. Consequently, every device which has already been sold would become an Apple TV device.

By: Ken Lubeck

Ken Lubeck — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:32:59 +0000

I ignore the xBox sound ;) I use my xBox 360 with Kinect to access YouTube, NetFlix, soon all of my Comcast OnDemand library… Enough for me not to buy an AppleTV. So it is in this class.
Right now Apple has a long way to go to catch up but with their other products doing awesome they could catch up in the next few years.

By: Dave Linabury

Dave Linabury — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:19:56 +0000

Totally agree. Gaming consoles do not count. Yes, it can do some of the same things, but the masses aren’t buying it BECAUSE it’s like Apple TV.

By: GUGGER

GUGGER — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:19:13 +0000

You all are missing the point. Neither will succeed until they are built right into the TV…

By: Hamish Dobson

Hamish Dobson — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:42:53 +0000

I bought my AppleTV i) as a way to view photos in the living room, ii) as a way to play iTunes content on the family stereo. As soon as it was installed it became my Netflix and Vimeo client. I now listen to more podcasts via AppleTV than on my phone or iPod. For me, AirPlay mirroring is cool, but not the driving reason for my AppleTV.

By: Nitin Narang

Nitin Narang — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:40:06 +0000

Xbox is relevant (20 million + live accounts) but there is still an ever exciting wait for Apple to come with its content package deal, something it has mastered for other offerings in the past.