Apple Tv

Next Apple TV to adopt iPhone OS, cloud storage, $99 price

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, May 28, 2010 a 11:21 am

If rumors are to be believed, the next Apple TV is going to adopt the iPhone OS, eschew local drives for cloud storage, and hit a $99 price point.

TiPb's been wondering out loud about putting the iPhone OS on the Apple TV for a while now, so obviously we're excited to hear that may be on the table. Sure, figuring out how to translate the current multitouch input methods of the iPad and iPhone to something that works on a 60" from 10' away but having Safari and apps and games on the platform will be more than worth the effort.

If Google TV runs off iPad-like chipset, could Apple TV?

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, May 25, 2010 a 11:14 am

TiPb's wondered out loud before about the prospect of the Apple TV joining the iPhone OS family and providing a better overall package than the current no browser, no apps, no pretty much anything exciting product that hasn't seen a hardware update since... almost ever.

iTunes LP was Record Labels' Idea?

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010 a 9:06 am

GigaOm is reporting that, contrary to speculation that Steve Jobs wanted to return us to a more analog time when we bought new albums and sank back for ours drinking in every liner note and detail, iTunes LP was actually the record labels' idea:

I’m told by an industry source who preferred to remain anonymous that iTunes LP wasn’t Apple’s idea in the first place. Rather, it’s the result of the same renegotiations between Apple and the major record labels that yielded DRM-free songs and flexible pricing early last year, a concession by Cupertino to make a gesture in favor of album sales as consumers increasingly show a preference for digital singles.

More iPhone OS on Mac and Apple TV Talk

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Feb 26, 2010 a 11:48 am

A little while ago TiPb asked if the Apple TV should be switched over to the iPhone OS, but what about the Mac? Coincidentally, a recent Apple job offering was discovered by ComputerWorld that hinted Apple was seriously considering pushing the iPhone OS from phone, MP3-player iPod touch, and tablet iPad to further devices:

Should Apple TV Switch to the iPhone OS?

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Feb 22, 2010 a 1:02 pm

Should Apple TV switch to the iPhone OS? The Apple TV was introduced in late 2006 but debuted alongside the iPhone at the Macworld 2007 keynote. Since then, the iPhone has become a huge, mainstream success and the Apple TV... well it reamins just a "hobby".

Technically, Apple TV is included under Apple's iTunes + iPod offerings, and it's been referred to as a big iPod for your TV. While low end iPods continue to run their embedded OS, the iPod touch and upcoming iPad run versions of the iPhone OS, Apple TV, by stark contrast, originally used a special version of Mac OS X Tiger. Though it has been updated to 2.x and 3.x over the years (and gotten a price cut to boot!), it remains in a sort of no-mans land, with more functionality than an iPod nano but far less than a proper Mac OS X machine like the Mac Mini.

The set-top box market is nebulous at best, but Apple chose to engage it -- much as it has the equally nebulous tablet market with the iPad, so we wonder if they wouldn't do better engaging it on the same terms -- with the iPhone OS and its 150,000 apps.

Apple Releases Apple TV 3.0.2 Update

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Feb 10, 2010 a 7:49 pm

Apple has released a software update for the Apple TV, bringing their set-top box up to version 3.0.2. No word yet on what it includes -- and I won't be able to test mine until Sunday -- so if you find anything, let us know.

(9to5mac suggests it's to tie in the new wave of photo-related updates)

Apple Issues Apple TV 3.0.1 Update to Fix Disappearing Content Bug

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Nov 7, 2009 a 6:46 pm

MacRumors is reporting that Apple has sent out an email alerting customers to an urgent Apple TV 3.0.1 update to address an issue involving disappearing content. I haven't received the email myself yet, nor am I home to check (and I stream all my content anyway), but in case any of you on Apple TV 3.0 are affected, here's the letter they posted:

Dear Customer,

iTunes LP and iTunes Extras Now Apple TV 3.0 Ready -- Still No Love for iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Nov 6, 2009 a 5:18 pm

It still baffles us how iTunes LP and iTunes Extras content -- which was introduced in the seemingly Apple TV-ideal 720p format -- wasn't compatible with the new Apple TV 3.0 software to begin with. In fact, we've gotten Wall-E with iTunes Extras to play on our Apple TV already. But according to Apple, it's now really for real compatible...

Beyond iPhone: Apple TV 3.0 First Impressions and Screenshot Gallery

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Oct 31, 2009 a 7:03 pm

Apple TV 3.0 (or Apple TV 3, or Apple TV Take 3) is the just-released third version of Apple's and Steve Jobs' "hobby". And, for good or for ill, its latest feature-set seems designed to keep iTunes' living room gateway as niche as ever. That's not to say it isn't good, because it is (though it does have problems we'll get into below), but it's certainly not great. Not yet. And we're beginning to wonder if Apple (now or ever) even wants it to be?