11 posts tagged “apple”
I have heard a lot of theories as to why the release of the apple TV has been delayed. Some have said that they are having problems getting FCC approval (which usually takes 4-6 weeks) while others have suggested that there are a shortage of key Apple TV components. I believe that all of these theories, although plausible, are incorrect.
I believe that the Apple TV is being delayed because Apple intends to introduce HD content for the launch of Apple TV. The lack of HD content in the iTunes store could adversely effect sales and adoption rates for the Apple TV. Who is going to want to buy a media hub to stream less the DVD quality video to your large flat panel display when you could just pop a DVD into your existing player.
Now I know the lure of the Apple TV may be the ability to watch podcasts on your TV but, the podcast audience alone is not large enough to support the device and help Apple obtain market share. There are too many options out there for people seeking HD content on their TVs. One could pony up the $200 for an HDDVD add on to your X box 360 and up converting DVD players are very inexpensive these days. My point, Apple TV can't succeed without HD content and that is what is holding up the release of Apple TV. Apple knows that it will kill the product before it launches without offering HD content on the release date, or relatively soon after. If they don't, only Mac Fan boys (and Girls), such as myself will adopt the product and, their chance of grabbing a substantial portion of the market will dwindle away.
With the Apple TV soon to launch, I have found myself asking several questions. Most importantly, would I buy one? The answer is very simple, it depends.
For me, it comes down to one point. When will Apple deliver HD content via iTunes. For the consumers with large flat panel displays, the current "near DVD quality" just won't cut it. I for one, have turned into an HD snob. I refuse too watch SDTV for one reason. It looks horrible. The expanded/streched/whatever viewing format looks bad. The native aspect ration of SDTV waists an enormous amount of HD screen real estate. Additionally the pixelation is an eye sore.
So, will I buy an Apple TV. Yes, once they offer at least 720P. Once that occurs I will be happy to purchase an Apple TV and will likely abandon my digital cable service to boot. For the amount of TV I watch, it would be much cheaper to buy my programming a la carte. In addition, there will be no need for a DVR. An HD antenna would fill in that small void for live sports programming (although I watch those events sparingly).
All being said, I am curious what others think about Apple TV and if and why they are planning on buying one. It is strange that this product requires an HDTV yet Apple does not offer HD content. I am sure that iTunes will offer HD content in the future. But why would I want an Apple TV before that date. I would love to hear from anybody reading.
Well, where should I begin. I cannot believe it. The iphone is more than I expected. When I was watching the keynote I was literally shouting with excitement. The AppleTV was about what I had expected, and to be honest, was disappointing. With all the other companies fighting to serve our content on our living room displays, there are a lot of impressive features out there. The 40GB HD was a nice surprise but, why is the USB port on for service? I didn't expect DVR functionality, but it would be pretty nice. I can stream my content wirelessly but do I want to watch 640X480 on my 50" display? Also, do I want to invest in a product which is dependent upon a non-ratified wireless standard?
Once all of the excitement died down I was able to really reflect on the Macworld announcements. The most apparent thing is that it was not much of a Macworld. Computers weren't really discussed at all. This was quite a disappointment. Personally, I am desperately waiting the release of both Leopard and the Octo. I would really like to upgrade to an updated cinema display as well. But, nothing about any of these. I can't believe that they didn't even mention Leopard at all.
The iPhone is a very exciting product. I have been waiting for it for quite some time now. I am proud to say that I have turned down 6 months of offers for more minutes with T mobile to remain out of contract. I will be one of the first people in line for two iPhones, one for me and one for my fiance. That being said, there are some things that the iPhone seems to lack. First, no GPS! It seems like this is something that they should be able to get in there. Are they going to get a full version of iChat to offer voice over IP? Will third party developers be able to develop for the slimmed down OS X? There are a lot of questions still to be answered.
For now I think that I will be holding off on AppleTV. Although I can watch some of my favorite podcasts in HD (Macworld), it is not worth it until iTunes offers HD support. And why didn't apple announce some HD content for iTunes. If microsoft can offer it via Xbox, I am sure that iTunes can offer HD content.
All in all the iPhoneWorld expo offered three things. We have AppleTV (next month), an iPhone in June, and Beatles songs on iTunes. I still can't believe that there is nothing for me to buy today. Well, I'll be waiting for Octos, Leopard, and Cinema Displays (with integrated iSight).
The last comment I have to make: Did you feel the disappointment in the room when Jobs announced that the phone wouldn't be shipping until June?
There are so many rumors running wild in the blogosphere I felt compelled to set things straight (even if nobody is reading). This event will be centered around the integration of apple into your living room, although Leopard and the much anticipated iMobile will be discussed. Here is what to expect at next year's Macworld event:
- iTV or whatever it's going to be called: This one is a no brainer. Jobs has already announced that the apple media center, code named "iTV", will ship during the first quarter of 2007. Expect to find out the true name of the device and more about its functionality, especially the USB port. I would say that it is safe to assume that the USB port will allow users to add the much needed disc for any media center type device
- Leopard Leopard and more Leopard: Expect to see more of OS X 10.5. Also, expect to see those "secret" features (the features not ready to show during the Mac developer conference) that Jobs didn't want to reveal prior to the finalization of Vista. I would expect that brushed metal will have seen its last days in OS X. Expect improved spotlight performance, enhanced video features in iChat, and a possible MacWorld release date.
- 8 Core Mac Pro: I forgot this on the original posting so I came back and added it. I guess I forgot it since it is such a given. I have been waiting for this since Arstechnica reported swapping the pin compatible 4 core clovertown with the Core 2 chips in October (I think that when it was). When leopard and the Octo are available I will certainly upgrade. I just hope that upgraded cinema displays are also available to that I can add a 30" to order.
- Updates to the iTunes Store: Now that the holiday buying season is over expect more movie studios to join Disney at the iTunes box office. I would also expect an improvement in video quality. Nobody want to watch 620X480 on their 1920X1080 plasma display. With the iTV's release approaching soon, and to compete with Xbox Live's HD dowloadable content, expect HD contenet on iTunes soon.
- Updated Apple Cinema Displays: It is a well known fact that stores are no longer stocking stand alone iSight. It only makes sense that iSight will be integrated into a new line of cinema displays. This would offer the much needed front row support for the Mac Pro. The fact that the mac pro has not had front row support to this point is just silly. Hopefully an integrated iSight module will allow the Mac Pro to receive its much needed front row support. I can't imagine apple's flagship computer suffering from such an inadequacy much longer.
Integrated iSight with front row capabilities may allow Cinema Displays to function as stand alone Displays. This couples nicely with the pending iTV release. Whether we see a 42 or 50" display, which will double as a TV, is still a question, although I don't see apple jumping into the consumer electronics market quite yet.
This one is a little bit more speculative but, we may be fortunate enough to see HDMI connectivity in the new line. This would be a necessary step to really getting apple, "in the living room." Maybe unlikely but we can dream can't we.
- The iMobile (or whatever they call it): Yes we will see the elusive iPhone. Scott Bourne, please contain yourself! But, it will not be everything that you expected (although I will be the first to line up and buy one). Don't worry though, that is what 2G and 3G are for.
- True Video iPod: Not yet! Still have not been able to work out the bugs on that one. Expect it by the middle of 07.
Of course, this is all speculation but, i expect that these predictions will be fairly accurate. If not hit with the lame tag.
In Steve Jobs' last keynote at WWDC he simply stated,"I live in Apple Mail." I like Steve live in apple mail and hate leaving it to deal with web based email accounts. Well, if you have an account with gmail (or even aol) you can set up your gmail account to work within Mail.
To access gmail in Mail is very simple and consists of two major steps. The configuration process is listed in detail below.
Step 1
1. Login to your Gmail account
2. Click on the Setting button on the upper right corner of the screen
3. Choose the Forwarding and POP tab
4. Click one of the 3 buttons which will enable POP
Step 2
1. Open Mail and enter the preference pain (Mail -> Preferences)
2. Select the accounts tab
3. Hit the + button in the lower left corner.
4. a. Choose POP form the the drop down menu for Account
b. Add your name (or any name you would like) to the full name field
c. Enter your full gmail address in the email address field
d. Click continue
b. Enter your full email address in user name
c. Select the use authentication box
d. Click Continue
6. You will see a confirmation screen. Click continue again.
At this point Mail will download everything (excluding the junk) from gmail. If you have a lot of messages this may take some time. So, brace yourself and get ready to enjoy your gmail from glorious Mail.
This is a quick tutorial on how to text message a mobile phone via iChat. It is very simple. All you need to do is:
- Open iChat
- Hit Command+Shift+N or go to the file menu and select new chat with person
- Type in +1234567890 (+, 1, area code, phone number)
- Type your message and hit enter
- You will get a prompt that looks like ...
This is a really great tool if you are at your mac and need to quickly send a message to someone. The recipient can even reply to you on iChat. Enjoy!
Well, it has been almost a week since the apple keynote on September 15th. For the most part, the keynote went as expected. Three new iPods were announced. First, a new video iPod with a brighter screen, enhanced battery life, a price cut, and new search features. Second, a second generation iPod nano which now comes in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities. Most notably the new nanos come in a variety of colors (similar to the iPod mini). The third iPod is a new shuffle, which will ship in October 2006. The new shuffle has 1 GB of memory and a built-in clip on the back side. The size is amazing!
In addition to new iPods, apple announced an upgrade to iTunes. Along with iTunes7 apple rolled out their long anticipated movie store. They announced that they will be selling all video with 640X480 resolution. That is a vast improvement over their previous offerings. The new iTunes also offers games which retail for $4.99 and work with all 5th generation iPods.
The only part of the keynote that was not expected (other than a live performance by John Legend) was the demonstration of iTV, which Jobs said will ship in Q1 2007. iTV will enable wireless streaming of video from your computer to your flatscreen TV. The iTV, which is only a code name, has a surface area slightly greater than the Mac Mini and contains ethernet, component, HDMI, and optical digital jacks. There is no inherent storage capacity. It works merely as a conduit of video content to your television. Although many have speculated about a device such as this, the annoucement struck many off guard.
The reason that this announcement interests me the most is that it may offer an alternative to HDDVD and Bluray. If apple offers HD content via iTunes and I can stream it to my TV wirelessly why do I need to spend $1000+ on a HDDVD or Bluray player. I would much rather have the content on a hard-drive on my home network and just shoot it over to the TV. Many might argue that it is not practical due to file sizes and download speeds. To this I have not reply, other than that I hope that like current iTunes moveis you can start watching several minutes after the download begins. Once HDDVD and Bluray become readily available in computers you may opt to simply stream titles via a computer to a TV. But you will be limited to the titles offered to one of the two platforms, unless we see a drive that can play both formats (which seems unlikely).
For all the people that were disappointed by the 640X480 resolution in iTunes I would not fret. It is very likely that the titles have already been transcoded into a widescreen format which will be offered once full screen video iPods ship (which according to Think Secret will be Q4 2006).
The keynote made no announcement of the widescreen iPod, no iPod phone, but we got a glimpse of something that could really change the way media is delivered to the home entertainment center. I cannot wait to find out how this all pans out.
There have been rumors in the blogosphere about an iPod phone for some time. The patent originally filed by apple in March, 2006 for a multi-functional hand-held device, was published by the US patent office September 7th.
The patent covers the following topics: Touch Screen, Touch Sensitive Housing, Display Actuator, Multi-Functionality, Form Factor, One-Handed vs. Two-Handed Operation, Footprint/Size, Full Screen Display, Limited Number of Mechanical Actuators, Adaptability, GUI Based on Functionality, Switching Between Devices (GUI), Operating at Least Two Functionalities Simultaneously, Configurable GUI (User Preferences), Input Devices, Pressure or Force Sensing Devices, Force Sensitive Housing, Motion Actuated Input Device, Mechanical Actuators, Microphone, Image Sensor, Touch Gestures, 3-D Spatial Gestures, Perform Action Based on Multiple Inputs, Differentiating Between Light and Hard Touches, Example of a New Touch Vocabulary, Speaker, Audio/Tactile Feedback Devices, Communication Devices (wired & wireless) and Change UI Based on Received Communication Signals. For the full details, including the published application with rudimentary diagrams, check macnn.
I don't know about you, but I know I am hoping this little dream comes true. An iPod with PDA and phone capabilities could be the answer I have been waiting for. I am just hoping that this "device" is a phone with some version of iTunes, iCal, and Address Book. The big question will be pricing. Notable bloggers have commented that it is unlikely Jobs would want to be involved with the cell phone carrier exclusivity contracts. Does this mean we may see a full screen multi-functional hand-held unlocked iPod-like device? What a dream. Can't wait to see what we get!
Rumors of an iTunes phone have been circulating around blogs and forums for several months now. Some mention the phone as a certainty, while others think it's unlikely that Apple would enter into this mobile carrier dominated market. Well, it now appears that Apple will be entering this market, at least to some degree. This video depicts an OS X Mobile operating system on a Nokia phone. This is great for those consumers who have, for whatever reason, hesitated to latch onto a PDA phone operating on the Windows Mobile OS. I hope you are as excited as I am. Enjoy!
There have been rumors for at least a month now that Steve Jobs has will not be in London on September 12th to give the keynote address for this year's Apple Expo. This rumor has left many people wondering why Jobs would neglect the European Apple community. It is now recently rumored that Jobs will deliver the keynote address, just not live. This makes perfect sense. Could you think of a better way to tout the power of iChat A/V?
So, now that we have that out of the way, what will Jobs announce during his keynote? The following is a list of possibilities from most to least likely.
These are all possibilities, we just have to wait and see what actually happens
- Aperture 1.5 or even 2.0- With photokina approaching quickly, many rumors are swirling around the possibility of a new version of aperture. The only real question is whether it will be announced September 12th or September 26th.
- 23" iMac with Conroe- There have been rumors of a 23" iMac for sometime now. It only makes sense that these core 2 chips will find their way into the new iMac. Especially since the Mac Pro is incorporated the Xeon processors.
- iPod Phone or Widescreen Video iPod- Either of these are unlikely. One can dream though.
- Nothing- Nothing new will be announced. Jobs will further tout the new capabilities of leopard.
