[opendtv] Re: Google and Apple TV

Craig Birkmaier wrote:

> No discussion here yet, as this is a rumor. But I think it is a safe
> bet we will learn a lot more next week at the Apple Developers
> Conference.
>
> A $99 box could be very attractive, but I suspect that Apple will have
> a far more compelling story in terms of the content to feed their iPhone
> OS ecosystem.

The rethink-wireless.com web site is on the blink, but below I copied the 
teaser for one of today's stories.

This $100 Apple device is basically an iPhone. And as far as I'm concerned, 
they are screwing up (from my point of view) what could be an interesting 
product. Again, like before, because they are more interested in creating a 
walled garden than in creating what I would have thought would be a neat 3G/4G 
or WiFi wireless way of getting ANY Internet-based TV content to your TV set.

Note: no cellular access, no local storage. An iPhone with only WiFi or 
Ethernet input, and only for access to a walled garden. Apple afficionados will 
gush over it anyway, of course.

Bert

-----------------------------
4. Apple to turn iPhone into $100 set-top for streaming TV
   by Peter White

Apple is planning to take the guts of its new iPhone, including its iPhone OS 
4.0 operating system and its new A4 chip, and turn it into a portable set top 
box to carrying around an HD TV service.

The leaks about it have appeared in the last few days in Engadget and Apple 
Insider, and the move is seen as a way to replaced its ailing and failing Apple 
TV line.

Apple TV has been launched twice and has had another major software update, 
none of which has changed people's view, that it's not worth $259 to watch 
internet programming they can already see on their PC, but on their TV. For 
almost a year now there has been a strong rumour, that as a next step Apple 
would put itself up against the US Pay TV industry - cable, satellite and IPTV 
suppliers - with a combination of a new streaming TV service, targeting both 
existing Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad, and also triggering one or 
two more specialist devices.

So the latest rumour is about a new portable set top from Apple which plugs 
into your TV, and acts as a processor to render the new TV service. It should 
also be able to download and run existing App Store applications on your TV. 
The big news about the leaks is that the device is being prepared for under 
$100. TV for the Apple service is expected to come with some recognized 
channels, and other channels built by Apple from leading existing TV programs, 
on either monthly payment programs or pay s you go. Apple could even allow for 
a certain amount of free programming to trigger device sales.

Apple is delivering all this with its A4 chip inside, as a kind of dumb iPhone 
4.0, disconnected from the cellular network, a new iPhone without the cellular 
chips, and with no screen. Connectors are simply power in (and we assume WiFi 
or Ethernet in) and TV out. It will run the exact same copy of the iPhone OS 
4.0.

The coverage so far is talking about content being in the cloud, but let's be 
clear on what is meant by this, it means video images streamed to home from an 
Apple controlled server, rather than downloaded and stored on the device. It 
comes as no surprise that the content is rumoured to be HD all the way up to 
1080p, given that Apple has long used Akamai as a content delivery network and 
it has been touting its ability to stream HD content for well over a year.
 
 
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