Crave

Episode 56 of the Digital City, where we discuss Apple's plans for a monthly iTunes TV subscription service; Joey wonders why everyone puts up with poor iPhone service (hint: it's the social utility of shared experiences); and Scott finds out how much laptop $350 can buy.

It's also a mixed bag for Nintendo, with Wii sales down 50-percent over last year, and a lukewarm reception to the larger screen on the DSi XL handheld -- but at the same time, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and targeted games such as Style Savvy may bring in holiday shoppers. Finally, check out a hands-on look at DJ Hero, and see Scott rock a trucker hat straight out of 2003.

Related links:
>>DJ Hero: Hands-on
>>Laptop bargain-hunting: What can you get for $350?
>>Nintendo's new big-screen DSi XL

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
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Bonus -- Hands-on video with DJ Hero:

The new Apple TV in action.

(Credit: Apple)

It might just be for the for the hobbyists, but Apple announced on Thursday that version 3.0 of its Apple TV software is now available for download.

According to Apple, the free software features a redesigned menu that the company hopes will make it easier to find the content users are looking for.

Perhaps the biggest news from the update is the addition of Apple's recently announced iTunes Extras and iTunes LP. The former gives users the opportunity to access special features like deleted scenes and cast interviews in various movies in the iTunes Store. iTunes LP allows users to view content related to specific songs, including interactive lyrics, performance videos, and other offerings.

Apple also announced that users can finally listen to Internet radio stations on the Apple TV. They can listen to several stations, including WCBS, K-Rock, and others. The company also added Genius Mixes, which lets users "listen to up to 12 endless mixes of songs that go great together, automatically generated from their iTunes library." iPhoto users will now have access to iPhoto Events. Apple also threw in its facial-recognition feature iPhoto Faces.

Overall, the update seems rather iterative. As an Apple TV owner, I was hoping for something ground-breaking. Instead, Apple has added a few extras and Internet radio. They're nice to have. But they certainly pale in comparison to my hopes for bigger and better things from this product. For now, it seems that the Apple TV is still just "a hobby."

Apple TV owners can download the free software now.

(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?

The TiVo: close, but no cigar.

(Credit: TiVo)

Roku announced this week that it signed on with Major League Baseball to deliver MLB.tv Premium to its set-top box. It's the first live content that the device, which is best known for its Netflix streaming, will offer.

But like many other set-top boxes on the market, the services the Roku box offers aren't unique to that device. Netflix streaming is available on a large and growing number of devices, including TiVo DVRs, the Xbox 360, and all newer LG and Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems. In addition to the Roku, MLB programming is available on the PC, through Boxee, and through various cable and satellite TV packages.

Indeed, many TVs, Blu-ray players, DVRs, and home theater systems now have a baseline configuration that makes it relatively easy to add streaming services via postpurchase firmware upgrades. At this point, adding content seems almost as simple as calling the content provider and having lawyers work up an agreement between the parties.

The problem is, those partners are not necessarily working together. The hardware providers want those streaming or download services to be exclusive to their boxes. The content providers want their entertainment to be made available on as many devices (STBs or otherwise) as possible. Those very different goals are causing set-top boxes to provide most, but not all, the services that consumers want.

Two great tastes that would taste great together?

(Credit: Matt Hickey)

Netflix might be planning to bring its "Watch Instantly" feature to new devices soon. Currently built in to several products, like Sony HDTVs, and very popular on the Xbox 360, the feature lets subscribers watch any of thousands of movies in the Netflix library on their TVs. There are no physical discs; the videos stream via Web connection.

And according to Afterdawn.com, which quotes unnamed executives familiar with the situation, the Nintendo Wii and Apple's iPhone platform are next on the list. The Wii is a fairly obvious choice as Nintendo has been pushing streaming or downloadable content since the console launched a year and a half ago.

But the iPhone is something else. Apple--likely at the behest of AT&T--has kept much streaming video from the iPhone. Afterdawn points out that the streaming would likely be via Wi-Fi, only to keep bandwidth on the already overloaded network down.

What's interesting is the lack of mention of the Apple TV. Sure, the iPhone and iPod Touch are much more popular devices, but the Apple TV--which already features streaming media via YouTube and the iTunes Movie Store--seems like a much more natural choice. People want to watch the movies on their TVs.

Apple wants you to rent or buy from iTunes and has never been happy with an "all you can eat" subscription service. But if Netflix can convince Jobs and company that "Watch Instantly" will be OK on the iPhone, then it can argue the same for the Apple TV.

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)

Can a product's value be measured by how much its developers improve it over time? If so, that metric would not have positive implications for the Apple TV.

Apple quietly updated its Time Capsule storage device Thursday. The high-end model will now retail for $499 and allow up to 2TB of storage. The low-end model with 1TB of storage will now retail for $299.

The Apple TV is in desperate need of an update.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

It's a nice upgrade. And it follows a list of several updates Apple has made in recent months to many of its products, including the iPhone, MacBook, and MacBook Pro. Apple is even preparing for its new operating system, Snow Leopard, which is slated for release in September.

But the company has yet to release a major upgrade to its Apple TV. Granted, Apple has updated the device's software on multiple occasions, but where's the new, major hardware update?

For almost a year now, we've been hearing about impending refreshes to the Apple TV.

In September, reports suggested that an Apple TV update featuring anything from a "Mac Mini/Apple TV" hybrid to something related to HDTVs was imminent. Nothing of the sort was ever announced.

In February, reporters found a survey that Apple conducted asking Apple TV owners how they were watching video on the device. It also asked them what they would change about the set-top box. That survey vanished from Apple's Web site. And once again, no major updates were released.

(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)

Lots of options already exist for getting video-on-demand via the Web.

(Credit: CNET)

The economy is in the toilet, and I know I'm not the only person in America who is looking for ways to cut costs. Top on my list in 2009 is finding a way to eliminate my $100 a month cable TV bill.

Up until very recently, the idea of cutting off subscription TV would have meant skimping on a whole lot of good quality entertainment. I must admit, I don't watch a lot of TV. But I watch enough that I would be very sad if I had to give up HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" or NBC's "30 Rock."

But thanks to that wonderful communications network known as the Internet and the fact that big Hollywood studios and TV networks have finally realized that digital distribution is actually a good thing, cable cord cutters, like me, won't have to sacrifice that much or anything at all, depending on what movies and TV programs we like to watch.

Thanks to services like Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon On Demand, consumers can simply stream or download movies or previous seasons of TV shows directly from the Web anytime they want. And for those viewers looking for current seasons of TV shows, they can turn to Web sites, such as Hulu.com or TV.com, which have aggregated some of the most popular TV shows for on-demand viewing over the Net. (Disclosure: CNET and TV.com are properties of CBS Interactive.)