Apple

(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?

Concept art for an Apple touch-screen Netbook.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

If you've been following the Apple Netbook gossip along with us the last few months, here's the latest tidbit, courtesy of Barron's:

A "veteran analyst," albeit a very anonymous one, has allegedly seen and touched Apple's rumored "slate-style" PC, which we like to call the jumbo iPod Touch. According to Barron's source, the new product will be announced in September, released in November, and carry a price tag of between $699 and $799. As previously reported, the tablet (or whatever Apple plans on calling) is ready to go but has been awaiting final approval from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

As for concrete details about the device itself, the veteran analyst had only one thing to say about his or her hands-on experience: "The machine impresses with its display of hi-def video content. It's better than the average movie experience, when you hold this thing in your hands."

Now there's a shocker. (I don't think you'd have to be a veteran analyst to predict that).

The article also goes on to say that the PC industry is basically on pins and needles as it waits to see what Apple puts out. According to the phantom analyst, PC makers have paused production on next-generation Netbooks until they see what Apple's come up with.

Interestingly, while there's been a lot of talk about this being a media-centric device with a little Apple TV mixed in (what you'd expect from a giant iPod Touch), Barron's quotes Jon Peddie, head of Jon Peddie Research in Tiburon, Calif., as saying it will be a gaming machine as well.

"Gaming will be a big part of what this [the new device] is about," Peddie said.

However, as far as we know, unlike the veteran analyst, he has not seen or touched the device.

Comments?

Via Engadget via 9to5Mac via Barron's (subscription required to view full article)

(Credit: CNET)

Apple Insider has unearthed proof that YouTube uploading will be built into the upcoming version of QuickTime that ships with OS X 10.6.

According to beta testers, several video-sharing options will be baked into the latest release of Apple's QuickTime media playback and editing software, including the capability to directly upload to YouTube. With the new QuickTime, you will be able to convert and upload any supported video file type to the online video service and all you will need is to be a registered YouTube user. You also will be able to seamlessly upload supported video to the MobileMe Gallery.

In addition to these new sharing options, iTunes also will offer ways to convert and export your video files to work on your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. All of these options will be available to you from the same convenient location and will automatically be imported to iTunes before being synced to your supported devices.

With this latest discovery, Apple will effectively offer built-in support for YouTube across all of its main products. Both the iPhone and Apple TV already offer YouTube support, along with some of Apple's other software including recent releases of iMovie. With the addition of direct uploads through QuickTime, Apple is providing support for desktop and laptop Macs.

(Credit: USPTO)

It seems the success Apple has achieved with gaming on the iPhone might spill over from pockets to living rooms. The makers of the iPhone have filed a set patents for a Wii-style wireless controller that looks to be made for the Apple TV and could be used for a number of applications.

The patent filing, including the image above, clearly shows an icon for Safari, as well as images that appear to be an iPhoto-like app.

(Credit: CNET)

The Apple TV is a fairly powerful product for what little it currently does. Don't get me wrong, I love the device. I have one and use it almost every day. It's the easiest way to get my movie fix on in my living room, and the Flickr and YouTube functionality is amazing, as well as fun at parties.

Right now, though, that's about all it's good for. Apple has put together a pretty good method for distributing games (and other apps) via the iTunes App Store. And because the basic operating system on the Apple TV is very similar to the iPhone's, it wouldn't be too big of a jump to develop for it.

I'm excited about the prospect. Imagine playing a game like Light Bike on a 720p TV with surround sound. And if Apple TV app development is anything like the iPhone's, you could see an avalanche of good, inexpensive games.

It wouldn't aim to compete with the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but the guys at Nintendo might want to keep an eye on what Apple ends up doing with this patent filing, if anything.

(Via PC World)

Apple appears to be preparing to get serious about Apple TV.

Apple is fishing around for more information about how people are using their Apple TVs.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The company's link between the computer and the big-screen television has long been considered a "hobby" in the eyes of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, at least when viewed against major projects like the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone. But signs have been growing that Apple is thinking about making a more significant investment behind Apple TV.

The most recent tip was a survey that Apple conducted online on Tuesday, which has since disappeared from the company's Web site although was captured by AppleInsider. In that survey, Apple asked Apple TV owners a number of questions about the sources of video they are watching on the device, as well as asking owners to describe the one thing they would change about the device.

Apple TV's shortcomings are well documented: it can't play DVDs, it can't connect to your cable or satellite service, and it doesn't have a browser for accessing the millions of Internet videos that can't be found on YouTube. But sales have nonetheless picked up in the year since Apple decided to open up the device to movie rentals through the iTunes Store, instead of requiring owners to purchase movies.

A maker of wireless set-top boxes has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company hired away three employees with knowledge of technology that would be included in Apple TV.

In a six-page complaint filed Tuesday with the Illinois Northern Federal District Court, EZ4Media claims that Apple TV, AirPort Express, and Macintosh computers infringe on patents owned by the set-top box maker. The patents--specifically 7,130,616, 7,142,934, 7,142,935, and 7,167,765--were obtained in March by EZ4Media from Universal Electronics, according to InformationWeek, which first reported the suit.

In its suit, Bannockburn, Ill.-based EZ4Media claims that Apple hired three former Universal Electronics employees-- Nick Kalayjian, Bruce Edwards, and Wendy Goh--during the development of Apple TV.

"Each of these employees had access to (Universal's) confidential and proprietary information, and left (Universal) for Apple within 30 days of each other in the second quarter of 2005," the complaint says. "Apple TV was commercially introduced in September 2006."

Kalayjian, who now works at Tesla Motors, told InformationWeek that he wasn't involved in the development of Apple TV and declined to comment further.

EZ4Media is seeking an injunction prohibiting Apple from further acts of infringement, as well as "damages adequate to compensate it for the infringement that has occurred, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty."

This is not the first lawsuit EZ4Media has filed over these patents. In June, the company filed two suits, the first against Logitech, Netgear, and D-Link, and the second against Samsung, Pioneer, Yamaha, D&M Holdings, and Denon. Samsung was dropped from the lawsuit after an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.

Apple representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

With September's retooling of the iPod Nano out of the way, the blogosphere's attention is turning to the possibility of an Apple TV announcement in the coming days.

The Apple TV device.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Christina Warren of The Unofficial Apple Weblog wrote Saturday that TUAW.com had received an e-mail from an unnamed Apple reseller. The message: The reseller had been instructed by Apple

to remove all Apple TV displays and literature and to destroy them (which I assume means throw away the literature, send back the Apple TVs) by September 30, 2008 at 5 PM. Additionally, the e-mail says that there will be a webcast "kick off" on September 30.

It may simply be, Warren wrote in an update, that the reported instructions have to do with the expiration of licensing for the shows and images seen in the literature "and that the actual physical units may not be disappearing."

Still, the issue remains open: Is there something afoot with the Apple TV itself? "Could this potentially be the introduction of the Mini/Apple TV hybrid we've all been begging for?" Warren asks. "Is this related to the rumors of 'The Brick?'" (The Brick being a rumored gadget suspected of being scheduled for an October release.)

Version 2.0 of the Apple TV firmware came out in early 2008.

The folks at MacBlogz concur that an Apple TV shakeup is a possibility, but they seem to be putting their money on an HDTV-related upgrade.

All that remains now is to see what actually comes of the anticipated Apple Webcast on Tuesday.

HBO might soon be selling the old exploits of Tony Soprano on iTunes.

(Credit: HBO)

Apple may be getting ready to announce a content deal that would put old episodes of The Sopranos on iTunes.

Citing HBO insiders, Portfolio reported on Monday that Apple and HBO are getting ready to announce a partnership deal within the next two weeks (coinciding with the release of the Sex in the City movie?) that would supposedly involve Apple breaking its pledge to have the same pricing structure for all content sold on iTunes.

The report doesn't specify exactly how much Apple would charge for old episodes of HBO shows, but it notes that HBO insiders think that the deal is the "first time that Apple has agreed to a separate price structure for a content provider."

Adding HBO's content would be another feather in Apple TV's cap, after Apple turned the box into a movie rental service in January. The company has yet to deliver the 1,000 movies that were supposed to be available for rental in February; just fewer than 800 titles are currently available in the "All Rentals" section of the iTunes Store.

But the real impact of the deal could mean that Apple is finally ready to introduce variable pricing on the iTunes Store, after years of insisting otherwise. The Conde Nast publication notes that NBC's very public spat with Apple was over just that subject.

Just how far might Apple be planning to take Apple TV, Take Three (or maybe four)?

An Apple patent application unearthed by AppleInsider shows a proposed system for using an iPod-like device as a remote control for an Apple TV-like device with DVR capabilities. (They never use the actual product names in the applications, but it's not too hard to tell.) It also suggests that Apple is thinking about making a version of Apple TV that could watch and record live television programming.

Apple has applied for a patent that could let you record David Letterman interviewing Ben Affleck (we think that's Ben Affleck).

(Credit: USPTO)

Apple TV got a little more interesting in January with the release of the second version of the product, which can play rented movies from the iTunes Store along with purchased videos. What it can't do, however, is replace your living room set-top box from your cable or satellite provider and deliver live television.

But in a series of illustrations, the patent application shows how a video player could scroll through a lineup of programs that looks an awful lot like the TV Guide channel. Viewers could watch, pause, and rewind live television when controlled by an iPod-like remote control device. In keeping with Apple's latest push toward multitouch interfaces, several gestures could be used on the remote control to fast forward, rewind, or pause, among other things.

The standard patent application disclaimer applies: Don't expect to see this device on store shelves in the coming weeks, as patent applications don't always make their way into products. Still, an Apple TV that could play live television--whether that's over cable, satellite, or the Internet--as well as rent movies directly from the iTunes Store would be an interesting device, especially if you could use your iPhone or iPod as the clicker.