Still no love for Steve’s hobby
Apple’s big update today included some nice treats at just about every stage of the food chain, from the recolored shuffles to the reworked nano (bye, bye, fatty!) to an even thinner touch (32GB! Built-in speaker! My old one will be on eBay soon!). So, what was missing? Well, let’s put it this way: At an event where one of the first things Steve announced was the addition of more HD programming to the iTunes store—including the long-awaited return of NBC —the only screens he showed off on which viewers could watch that fabulous HD were about two inches (okay, the touch is 3.5 inches, but still). I don’t know about you, but I somehow find it hard to believe that you can appreciate the full impact of watching a Cylon basestar explode in glorious 720p on a 3.5-inch screen. No, what you really need to do is download that puppy to a box that can play it back on that 60-incher in your living room. Any idea where I can pick up such a box?
Anyone?
That’s right! AppleTV, Steve’s long-running, long-suffering hobby. AppleTV wasn’t mentioned once at today’s event, and if you didn’t know about it, you’d be hard pressed to find out about it from Apple. Go to the front page of Apple.com, and you’ll find the touch (with its cringe-inducing “funnest” tagline), the nano, and iTunes 8. Even the el cheapo shuffle gets a spot in the limelight. AppleTV? No way. And, of course, despite the fact that Steve rolled out new software for just about every media-savvy product Apple makes, AppleTV is still running the same old “take two” firmware. Forget about using the “Genius” function when you’re playing music on AppleTV. Oh, and the AppleTV page hasn’t been updated to show off all of those hot NBC shows. Monk, BSG, 30 Rock. Sure, Steve plugged them today. But if you’re in the market for an AppleTV, you’d never know it.
Okay, I’m done ranting. At least Apple mentioned AppleTV in their press release for iTunes 8. And tonight, I’ll be downloading some of that HD programming and watching it on a big screen in my living room. So, Steve, I’m helping you keep your hobby alive. Now, please, get out there and do something new with it!
Standard disclaimer: My opinions are mine alone and not those of my employer or anyone affiliated with my employer.
September 9th, 2008 16:24
I am long time supporter of the Apple TV. Just one correction – I think there was a Apple TV v2.1 updated in Aug 2008. Since v1, there have been some cool improvements, like the aggregation of local and iTunes library content into one menu.
I think $2.99 is a bit rich for HD TV, and I wont be paying it. I’d be happy with $1.99 for HD and perhaps a reduction to $1.59 for SD. What really urks me about this though is that content for Apple TV was never really SD - in same cases it was horrible quality (like say 400p – not DVD quality).
September 9th, 2008 16:53
Right, forgot about that. I actually liked the old UI better, but completely forgot about the upgrade. Yeah, $2.99 is high. I’ll be curious to see if they offer HD season passes at a decent price.