Apple TV gets a price drop
(Credit:
Apple)
We're not sure what it will take for Apple TV to really take off, but a $100 price cut certainly can't hurt. On Sunday night, the company dropped the price of the 160GB Apple TV to $229 and killed the 40GB model, which had previously been priced at $229.
Considering Apple had already dropped prices for its Time Capsule wireless networked drives, an Apple TV price drop doesn't come as much of a surprise. On top of that, Microsoft is on the verge of updating the Xbox 360 to stream "instant-on" 1080p movies using Zune video technology, so Apple needs to do something to invigorate its little white video box in the face of increasing competition from plenty of players, including Roku.
Of course, after recently hearing Apple executive Phil Schiller talk about how $199 is a "magic price point" for the iPod Touch, you have to wonder why Apple just didn't hit $199 with Apple TV (I routinely beg Apple reps to drop the price to $199 in meetings).
Alas, in due time. However, before we see that price point, we expect to see a higher capacity, more expensive model in the not so distant future.
Comments? At what price would you consider getting an Apple TV unit? Is 160GB for $229 good enough?
On Sale Now: $229.00 - $230.73
View the latest prices for Apple TV (160GB)
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter. 
Perhaps I just need a genius from the store to come show me how to connect it all, but thumbs down on the TV so far...
We use Apple TV to bring all our digital media to our home theater set up in our living room. We enjoy our photos on the 50-in plasma along with music. We have fun watching home videos together on the big screen. We listen to our music in our living room via our home theater system - the best sound we have in the house. We can pick music while laying back on the couch and enjoy it with artwork. When we have parties, we play music with our family photos - it is a huge hit with everyone.
We also use Apple TV to watch trailers of upcoming movies. We use it sometimes to look up videos on youtube - but most youtube videos look terrible on a large screen TV.
Of course, you can do all of this with a MBP hooked up to your system - but why bother with hassle of hooking it up every time you want to see something on the big screen? Why bother with a laptop dangling off your home theater system? Get a dedicated, sleek Apple TV for <$300!
Apple TV is one of the most useful products I've ever purchased. I am amazed why Apple TV does not appeal to more people - everyone seems to have tons of music, photos and videos that can be enjoyed laid back, on a big screen with great sound instead of standing around a small computer screen in a den.
I do that kind of stuff with my Xbox 360. Unless you're locked into an iTunes world (I guess it's easy in this case), you have other options, such as XB360 or PS3 or Roku, or some other Media Center Extender. I can stream music, video content, and pictures from my PC to my 360 to watch on my tv. I can also stream Neflix movies. Basically, any shared media on your home network is available.
I have a PS3 too - which I love for Blu-ray and gaming. But AppleTV syncs so perfectly with iTunes and iPhoto - playlists, events, albums, ratings and all.
Movie Rentals are a better reason to use Apple TV but any price for the device represents a barrier vs Netflix.
This isn't the iPod space where the competition was very weak in the beginning and superior design plus a well populated and executed store won. There are several, arguably better, alternatives to what Apple TV provides and Apple needs to re-think this market so they can approach it to win, not approach it thinking it is just like music and the iTunes formula will prevail somehow.
Believe it or not while trying to download, and watching network television through iTunes/AppleTV is expensive. An entire season of many children programs are actually cheaper than the DVD's.
Because I don't mind paying $25/year for each of the approximately three shows I actually like to watch. It saves me about $1000 over subscribing to Comcast, I watch shows when I want as often as I want, and without any commercials.
I love my AppleTV, and with the price drop, if I had a second TV in the house, I'd outfit it with one too.
From the XBox 360 website (paraphrasing)
Direct connection of 20Mbps or faster.
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Or faster? 20Mbps is mid-range FiOS speed. Direct Connection? So even if you do have that fast of FiOS speed if your XBox is connected wirelessly you still will not get instant-on.
Instant-on is nothing more than a "we-have-it-others-don't" (but it really does not even work) check box. I doubt more than 2% of XBox owners are really gong to get instant-on.
Users will need a 1080p-compatible HD TV, an HDMI cable and broadband speeds greater than 8 Mbps for instant viewing at 1080p and 5.1 surround sound.
From: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2009/jun09/06-01E3PR.mspx
Keep on trolling.
@ibeetle: Let me fix that for you:
Users will need a 1080p-compatible HD TV, an HDMI cable and broadband speeds greater than 8 Mbps for instant viewing at 1080p and 5.1 surround sound. "
Check, check, and check.
Yeah! :o)
How about DVR and Netflix streaming? Just being able to view ITunes content on my TV just isn't good enough.
There could be games that you use your itouch or iphone for a controller. their could be apps for streaming music, radio shows, sporting events, news tickers, hulu, netflix, etc. There could be a safari app to surf the internet that you use your itouch or iphone as the keyboard and "Air mouse"
Granted apple might see this as eating into their itunes profits, but if people want to own the series, own the movie, have higher quality, etc; they'll purchase it on itunes. If they're happy with streaming quality, can wait a week later say for their shows, an app would give them another option. This would take TV into the 21st century and give people options, instead the current model moves people who don't know to stay with cable/sat service or those who do know, bit torrent
AMD Athlon LE-1640 Processor
# 3GB DDR2-800 RAM
# 250GB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
# LightScribe SuperMulti DVD Burner
# NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE
# 10/100 Network
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
And for $60 I can get BIOSTAR VN9503TH51 HDMI GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card - Retail.
So for $340 (only $10 more than the old AppleTV cost) I could have a machine that runs rings around the Apple TV. Granted it's a mid-tower case but you could lay it on it's side or put in a hidden space out of sight and run the cables.
Now that they've dropped the price I still don't see it selling. Most of the target market for devices like this have either already built or bought Windows Media Center PC's or built MythTV boxes or are using their Xbox 360's like me. My Xbox 360 is linked to 2TB's of storage space for music and videos.
Now why would I want an Apple TV and it's tiny 160GB?
If XBMC for linux had DVR capability, that would be an even better option since all the money spent on the Windows OS would go into HDD.
"It is powered by an officially unspecified "Intel processor" -- a 1 GHz "Dothan" Pentium M -- and equipped with 256 MB of onboard DDR2 SDRAM and a 40 GB or 160 GB hard drive "for storing content locally" (160 GB hard drive option available starting May 30, 2007, 40 GB option discontinued September 14, 2009)."
If I was running, say, a Linux media center, like XBMC, I could have similar usability on those low hardware specs. However, I find it amazing that 1 GHz x86 processor, 256 MB RAM, and 160 GB of HDD is generally the specs of my PC back in 2000. It's perfectly fine for Apple to take these and make a good product out of them, but I wonder how cheap I can actually go in the PC world in order to get similar usability.
Despite it's limitations, the Apple TV's form factor is definitely one of it's major selling features.
Would it be all that hard to include a web browser and a wireless keyboard/trackpad?
Would it be all that hard to include a web browser and a wireless keyboard/trackpad?
A larger drive is a necessity if people want to store photos and music on the device. 1TB drives are not going for much money these days, and it would be useful to have SD/Flash card slots right in the device.
But two other factors also need to be considered: marketing and design. Apple TVs marketing is just not omnipresent -- I do not know how many casual users (most of the population) are even aware of Apple TV enough to consider it in their entertainment set-up. The advertising should also be less passive and smug (like it is currently, expecting people just to jump because it is an Apple product). From the design perspective, the box is too plain, and does not fit a common user expectation of a home entertainment unit. It is an odd size, and is perhaps too minimal. It fits well with other Apple drives, but not necessarily with other living room entertainment products. I think a vertical positioning option would help (like a book on a bookshelf), perhaps with a small OLED screen that allows the user to view the menus, date, time, etc. without having to view the television, and add a bit of visual wow to the box.
(I say the above as an Apple fanatic, and a designer)...
I would not undervalue the importance of DVR in a media box.
Apple TV just uses itunes as the link.
The lack of features, small size, and price tag are all very dissapointing!
They need to increase the HD to 320 and have the option for me to add USB drives to the device. This would allow me to add unlimited storage on the device and be able to move catalogs of movies around.
They need to add a DVD drive and allow me to rip movies to the USB drive. Add all the DRM they want, so that only my account can use the movie, but I have over 200 DVDs that I would love to be able to RIP and then store away.
And the most important thing, is that they need to develop a subscription model for movies and TV shows. Let me pay $50-$60 a month and have access to all the movies and TV shows in the iTunes library, plus add sports programming to the mix. Basically allow me to fire my current Dish or Cable provider and allow me to watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch, and where I want to watch it..
When articles like these, which deal with a device that has to have content downloaded for it, and yet refuses to address the issue of ISP download limits, then one has to wonder why its not being reported?
- by cftilley_dotmac September 14, 2009 7:23 AM PDT
- I'd have one if an Apple TV came free with every box of corn flakes.
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (109 Comments)To my mind, it's an underpowered device that can't do what's needed to be the entertainment hub for the home. Until it, or something else, does, I'm happy to leave it lonely on the shelf.