GottaBeMobile found the new app earlier today and says the $0.99 is a launch promotion. The iOS software is slated to sell for $1.99 at some future point. Even at two bucks, I think it’s well worth it, provided you still subscribe to Netflix for the physical discs.

The convenience really comes from wandering around the movie aisles at Target, WalMart, Best Buy or wherever DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are sold. Instead of trying to remember the interesting looking titles, taking photos of them or writing them down for later input to a Netflix queue, a simple barcode scan in ScanFLX does trick. You get a brief summary of the movie, the number of stars earned by reviewers and the option to add to a Netflix queue. Brilliant!

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Munster claims discussions with a “major TV component supplier” which had been contacted by Apple about its TV display parts lead him to believe Apple is still on track to introduce a dedicated television device in late 2012. However, there’s a caveat: Munster thinks if Apple can’t get a revolutionary new content model in place, then it won’t move on the market this year.

The analyst then goes on to suggest three possible scenarios that might constitute a unique Apple approach to the television market. Those potential solutions break down roughly as follows:

1. Changing the experience, not the service

In Munster’s first scenario, Apple would basically leave TV programming to existing operators and simply layer its own interface software on top, including menus, guides, DVRs and content discovery. Munster notes that Apple was expected by some to manage its own wireless network in the U.S. ahead of the iPhone launch, but instead partnered with AT&T and focused on UI and UX instead of content. Remember that apps came after the iPhone’s original introduction.

2. A hybrid content model

Apple could also partner with existing networks to offer live TV, and at the same time, deliver on-demand content from providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus or any other content partner willing to play via an App Store-style distribution channel, Munster suggests. It’s a “best of both worlds” type solution, and would probably still come complete with an overhauled UX, but might be trickier to negotiate than option number one, since it involves negotiating with two different types of content providers.

3. A la carte

Munster’s last option is a completely customizable, a la carte option that would see users subscribe to live TV packages from content providers. This would be the most revolutionary of the options in terms of the existing TV experience, but it would also involve a dazzling shift in the way providers make their content available, and the negotiations involved in doing so would be challenging, at best. In the end, there’s also no real guarantee that selective programming is what viewers are after, especially if existing, less flexible bundles from other sources cost less.

GigaOM’s Ryan Lawler wrote last year that Apple’s television effort was more about experience than about content, and described a likely outcome of Apple’s TV endeavors that pretty much mirrors Munster’s second scenario listed above.

Given the challenges involved in negotiating the third solution, I have to agree that a system that works with existing content sources, but also opens up the possibility of apps for different kinds of content makes the most sense as a solution that could still make big waves in the TV industry while also remaining realistically possible in the near-term. Which of Munster’s Apple TV predictions, if any, make the most sense to you?

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1. iTunes gift certificates and apps. If you have an app, TV show, or songs you’d like to share, you can quickly and easily gift them to someone right from iTunes. Generic iTunes gift certificates are available in amounts of $10 to $50 in $10 increments if you’re not sure of a person’s exact tastes.

2. Online backup. Nothing says “I love you” like the gift of preventing data loss. If someone you’re buying for hasn’t developed an onsite backup strategy, you can both give a gift and do a good deed. Both CrashPlan and Backblaze (two of my favorite online backup services) offer gift subscriptions for $50. Sure, it isn’t a very fun gift, but it’s practical, and when a recipient accidentally lose a file, they’ll hopefully remember how you helped them.

3. Audible. I’ve been an Audible fan for a very long time. Someone who has a long commute to work will appreciate the wide variety of books that they can listen to via the service. You can give an individual book (the geek on your list will love “Ready, Player One” narrated by Wil Wheaton) or give a monthly subscription that allows for multiple purchases. Three month subscriptions start at $45.

4. Pandora One. For the audiophile who loves their custom stations and playlists but winces when they hear an ad, how about a gift subscription to Pandora? No more pink cupcakes. I’d suggest Spotify, but gift subscriptions aren’t available in the U.S. yet. Coal in that company’s stocking for sure.

5. Hulu+ or Netflix. If the hard-to-shop-for person on your list loves TV or movies, a gift subscription of Hulu+ or Netflix will allow for streaming of video content to their iPad, iPhone, and desktop. Unfortunately Hulu+ doesn’t work directly on the Apple TV, so Netflix would be a better choice for users of that device. Both products have gift subscriptions that start at $7.99, and both give you a choice of attractive gift certificates to print at home.

There you have it. You didn’t procrastinate, you were simply waiting for the perfect gift, and now you have a great list. Happy holidays and next time, plan ahead!

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While not all shows have received the HD treatment (The Wire and Treme are still SD-only, for instance, along with older seasons of long-running shows), it’s a good start. Pricing varies, but per-episode costs for HD shows is either $2.99 or $3.99 depending on the title. Seasons are priced accordingly, so a full nine-episode season of Big Love, which is priced at $2.99 per episode, runs $26.91.

HD on the iTunes Store means 720p resolution, and the purchases are then available for playback on your computer, your iPad and over AirPlay to your Apple TV. Of course, HBO Go offers free high-definition streaming of HBO shows, so long as you have an active subscription to the network on one of its participating cable or satellite providers. But the HBO Go iOS app doesn’t support AirPlay streaming, and it requires an active connection to work.

It’s nice to see Apple’s available library of HD content expand with the addition of a number of quality titles. But at the same time, the pricing model still seems broken when measured against more affordable all-you-can-eat streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Do you plan on taking advantage of the new HBO content, or are you still holding out for a change in Apple’s approach to digital video sales?

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The story cites two people “with knowledge” of the auction, which is being run by two investment banks that Hulu hired to help negotiate a sale. That Apple could be considering Hulu isn’t exactly unique: Yahoo, Microsoft, AT&T and Google have also been linked to the Disney/News Corp./NBC Universal joint venture.

The plus for Apple taking over Hulu would be the addition of a lot more content to beef up its iTunes and Apple TV offerings and present an alternative to Netflix. Apple has long been said to be working on its own subscription video service, but that has yet to come to fruition.

A big acquisition like Hulu would also be one way to quiet those on Wall Street who are begging Apple to get more value out of the cash it’s keeping around.

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Under section 11 of the App Store Review Guidelines, we’ve confirmed that there’s a new section (hat tip to MacRumors) that allows apps to access and provide content subscribed to or purchased outside of the App Store, with one caveat:

11.14 Apps can read or play approved content (specifically magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video) that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app, as long as there is no button or external link in the app to purchase the approved content. Apple will not receive any portion of the revenues for approved content that is subscribed to or purchased outside of the app.

Apple still says apps that link to outside stores, subscriptions or purchasing methods will be rejected, but it’s no longer requiring that publishers offer subscriptions or purchases in-app if they also do so in another venue (like the Amazon Kindle store, for example).

Apple has been steadily winning magazine and newspaper publishers over to its in-app subscription method. But it’s unclear if any of the decisions made by publishers were influenced by the fact that before today, Apple seemed ready to turf them out of the App Store entirely come June 30. Still, magazines seem to be doing well using in-app subscriptions, so Apple may have accomplished what it needed to on that front by demonstrating the value of its subscription system.

Some users had feared that Apple’s ultimatum on this issue would result in the loss of key apps from the App Store, including Amazon’s Kindle e-reader, and could possibly affect relationships with other great content providers like Netflix and Hulu. Thanks to these revised guidelines, it looks like those apps will remain available to iOS users relatively unchanged, though Amazon will have to do something about the link to their web store that they provide in the current Kindle app.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad Apple backed down on this one. It’s probably better off making the App Store such an attractive vector for in-app sales that content providers opt to use it, rather than trying to force the issue and hurting users in the process.

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Weighing in at just over 4 GB each download, this update will likely be a major contender with Netflix for internet bandwidth.  Especially as Apple’s 54 million Mac users begin to upgrade.  While priced the same as OS X Snow Leopard, this cat is no slouch.  With over 250 new features, Mac users will be more likely to want to update sooner rather than later.

What will be interesting this time around is how one performs this download-based upgrade. While users have gotten familiar with the upgrade process of the disk-based distribution, the Mac OS X upgrade path will likely be a little different; requiring enough free hard drive space for the download, the upgrade process, and the larger OS foot print that will likely result.  At a time when Mac users are opting for the faster yet smaller SSDs, extra hard drive space, like network bandwidth will be at a premium.

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Send a Gift Directly From iTunes

The great thing about gifting someone an app, album, TV show or movie is that it’s instant. So if you’re a last-minute shopper, this should be just what the doctor ordered. On the Mac version of iTunes, it couldn’t be easier.

• Select either the app, album, TV show, audiobook or movie you want to gift
• Click on the drop down arrow next to the price and select Gift This Item
• Enter the recipient’s e-mail address

As to which app is best for Mom, Apple has created a special Mother’s Day list of apps if you need some ideas. You can gift apps directly from the App Store on your iOS device.  If there’s a problem, log on to your iTunes account and review your purchase history. There you’ll see each of your gift purchases. You can enter each gift purchase and either report a problem or send it again.

Gift Card for iBook, Electronic Gift Card for Kindle

There’s also the traditional means of getting a gift card.  One option is to get an electronic version of the gift card and have it sent directly to the recipient’s inbox on the device to which the gift card will more than likely be applied.  Unfortunately, books aren’t currently able to be sent as gifts directly from within the iBooks store. You can at least ship an iTunes gift card directly from your iOS device using the official Apple Store app.

• Search for “Gift Card” in the Apple Store app.
• Choose the gift amount you want to give.
• Tap the price button and click on the green Add to Cart button, then Checkout.
• Before you place the order, be sure to edit the shipping address.

Neither the iOS Apple Store, nor the online Apple Store has a way to email an iTunes gift card directly. Amazon, however, does. Amazon gift cards can be emailed directly to the recipient. Just search for “Gift Card” directly from the iOS Amazon App.  You can even send the gift card via Facebook.

Pre-Pay for Online Services Like Netflix

If bandwidth caps don’t drain us dry first, we’ll all be nickel-and-dimed to death by monthly recurring charges.  You can either ease your mother’s burden by paying for her current subscriptions, or add to her pain by introducing her to yet another online service.  Online services like Netflix are allowing gifts of a number of months between individuals. Three months of Netflix would be a great add-on gift if you’re considering giving an Apple TV this Mother’s Day.

Any other ideas? What kinds of Apple-related gifts are you giving your mom this Mother’s Day?

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Bloomberg cites “two people familiar with the project” as describing a new plan Apple is considering whereby it would license AirPlay to makers of televisions, receivers and other consumer electronics that allow for video playback. Currently, AirPlay tech is available for licensed use, but only for audio streaming, as in the Denon receiver Geoffrey recently checked out. Adding the ability to stream video would mean users could potentially stream content from their iOS devices or iTunes libraries directly to their TV or home entertainment setup, without the need for an Apple TV or tethered iOS device to act as a receiver.

Were the deal to go through, it could potentially allow Apple to expand its living room presence. Apple so far hasn’t been able to succeed with digital video distribution the way it has with online music sales, and a recent study found it trailing the industry leader Netflix by a wide margin. Part of that gap has to do with how Netflix is available on such a wide selection of devices, including Internet-connected televisions, home gaming consoles, computers, mobile devices and even Apple TV. Licensing AirPlay video streaming would unlock it from the confines of Apple’s own products, allowing it to begin to compete with Netflix in terms of consumer platform choice.

Greater availability of AirPlay devices would also better leverage the impressive iOS user base Apple has managed to accumulate. Right now, AirPlay is really only a value-added feature if you have an entire ecosystem of Apple products. If you only own one iPhone or an iPad, there’s very little that AirPlay brings to the table. Licensing would heighten the value of AirPlay as a selling feature for all iOS devices.

Of course, the trade-off is that consumers would have one less reason to buy Apple TV. Right now, much of the appeal of the device comes from just two of its features. First, it’s a great Netflix client. Second, it works flawlessly and without much effort for users who want to stream video from iOS device to TV. Sales would almost certainly fall if Apple made AirPlay more available from other sources.

But that could be a loss Apple is willing to accept. At last known count, the Apple TV had sold just over a million units in late December. It’s a good number, especially when compared to the sales of its predecessor, but by no means is the Apple TV the sales star that the iPhone or iPad is, and Apple hasn’t seen fit to crow about any other sales milestones for the device since, which isn’t a great sign regarding its fortunes. If the Apple TV dies but in exchange, Apple gains a broader foothold in the living room that it can use as leverage in negotiations with film and television content providers, it might be a worthwhile bargain for the Mac-maker.

What do you think? Would “AirPlay Video-enabled” stickers on TVs and home theatre receivers affect your buying decision? Does the Apple TV have legs without AirPlay exclusivity?

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According to NPD, the iTunes Store accounted for just 4 percent of video downloaded or streamed through February of this year in the U.S., making it just one of many also-rans trailing Netflix, which dominates with 61 percent. Twisting the knife, at least part of Netflix’s success is a direct result of Apple. More than a hundred million iOS devices can stream Netflix content, and in January Netflix announced that the Apple TV “in just four months has passed the also-growing iPad in Netflix viewing hours.” How did a company as savvy as Apple end up opening the back door to such strong competition in the digital video space?

It is the success of the company’s music strategy  (the iTunes Store accounts for about 66 percent of retail music in the U.S.) that has arguably done the most to hurt Apple’s video efforts. Fairly or not, music industry executives, not to mention aging rock start Jon Bon Jovi, see Apple’s success as at least partially “responsible for killing the music business.” Movie studio and television network executives are no doubt wary of being victims of a similar success.

Last fall with the introduction of television rentals for the iTunes Store, Jeff Zucker, then CEO of NBC, asserted NBC did “not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content.” Since then, ABC and FOX remain the only networks renting television. The situation appears even worse for Apple’s long-rumored video streaming service. Going back to 2009, a plan for offering network content for around $30 per month has repeatedly failed to materialize, despite the fact that this very similar to what the dominant Netflix offers. And that could be how Apple turns the situation around.

By appealing to the concerns of network and television studios, Apple could position itself as an alternative to the dominance of Netflix, a strategy similar to the one it used against Amazon’s Kindle with the iBookstore. Unfortunately, that would likely mean more favorable deals for content providers than Apple seems inclined to offer, but that difference could be partially made up by applying subscription fees of 30 percent to Netflix accounts originating on iOS devices. If Netflix then pulled its app from the App Store instead of complying with new subscription rules, consumers would have the iTunes Store offering equivalent streaming content (if, of course, it can convince studios to come on board). Apple risks alienating users by forcing Neflix to make a choice between leaving and complying with its subscription fee structure, but it can always backtrack if it starts hemorrhaging a significant number of users.

If that sounds like a huge risk, it is, but the stakes are high. At least some Android devices will soon be getting Netflix, and it’s already available on a wide variety of different platforms, including all major home gaming consoles. Netflix is also a much better value than iTunes rentals or purchases, with $8 granting users unlimited access. If Apple can’t come up with a better, cheaper way to sell its own video wares, it may be better off concentrating its efforts on making sure partners like Netflix continue to feel welcome in the App Store ecosystem, lest they abandon the platform and take a considerable number of users along with them.

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