Comments on: Will the Apple Television Have Any Room to Be Special?

By: Robert Smith

Robert Smith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:16:00 +0000

Actually made and designed. LG uses the same tech in many of their own things apple licensed it from LG and just calls it retina. Itunes saved music by apple taking money and not records labels not taking money now artists get less per song than before?

At any rate an apple TV would be horrible even if it does use an amazing LG screen like the new Oled one.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:16:00 +0000

this battle will be about content licenses and purchasing options, since the hardware is all so similar between apple and others. what shows will they have on itunes vs lenovo, android, google, etc. tv apps; will they have commercials; and what will be the purchasing setup — subscription, pay per view, or some combination.

By: Asdf

Asdf — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:22:00 +0000

Have fun watching your “Super Bowel”, hope you have a strong stomach.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:06:00 +0000

(Siri) “What would you like to watch?”

“Super Bowel”

BAM!…its on….

What’s that….you still typing where your Google TV should go to?…. Good luck with that!!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:56:00 +0000

just looking at the remote for the TVs at CES gave me heartburn. Does not look like much has improved since the 1st google TV….

By: Lee_david123

Lee_david123 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:47:00 +0000

????? Apple was the first to put out a hd based music device, smartphone and tablet????? What planet are you from? It was the seamless integration of software, beautifully designed hardware and a content driven distribution platform which made these products smash hits ( among other reasons) but not because of first mover tech genius.

By: Sbhark

Sbhark — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:29:00 +0000

I disagree with this author’s analysis. I just hope that Jobs had his hand on the project before he passed. Otherwise, this article may have some truth to it.
I am a PC user that appreciates a good user experience in a well built product. The author is focusing on the apps and technical specification, etc. I would focus more on the user experience, which for most of us is hard to imagine for a given product, especially if that product has been around for so long, like a TV. The longer they have been around, the harder for us to think outside the box. Apple TV would have to have something that allows users to experience TV like never before. If not, then, we are going back to Pre-Jobs era of apple products.

Cell phones and tablets are nothing new, and I’m sure engineers at Microsoft, Nokia, etc, thought that no one could radically make it better.

By: Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill

Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:32:00 +0000

Your missing my point Robert. All the R&D cost you mention will be much more expensive for Apple, if for no other reason than Apple has to create a TV FROM SCRATCH. Surely you must know that this will be the first TV they produce, you come accross as a huge fan so i asume you must know that. There is not a whole lot of R&D for the established TV makers, certainly not a fraction of what Apple is looking at to get started. My Panasonic TV is a 2010 model and the 2011 is virtually identical save for a slight improvement in black levels. Everything eles is the same including the components and design. These incremental improvements are the norm in the industry and it’s done this way because the R&D cost are lower. When it comes time to totally revamp a product line or start a new one the R&D will go up but even then companies like Samsung and LG won’t be starting from scratch like Apple will be, they have years worth of designs and expertise to borrow from there-by keeping their R&D cost as low as possible.
Also, if you pay attention to the TV market and the tech involved the way that i do then you would have known that the “break-out volumes” you speak of have indeed been achieved by Sharp last year. This bodes well for Apple as i’m sure you will be pleased to know because Sharp managed to come from near the back of the pack to be right up there near the front in such a short time based on nothing more than what tured out to be a gimic. That gimic?, Sharp added the color yellow to the standard red, blue and green color spectrum. This of course did nothing but produce inaccurate color reproduction, atleast according to the many reviews i’ve read regarding this tech. Looking at the Sharp set in the store the consumer would never know that the color is off, unless they read tech sites like we do and Sharp’s marketing campain was huge as well as hugely successful. So this go’s to show that with Apple’s rather famous marketing abilities they need not hit a home run with there set for it to do well, it a no brainer that ifans will buy Apples offering when it comes time to change TV’s wether it’s good or not because there already locked into the eco system.
So, even with that said i find it absolutely silly to think that Apple will be the most popular smart TV maker as you have said when in fact:1. The vast majority of people prefer other eco systems like Andriod and Microsoft. 2. Apple lust for high end high profit products that will surely benifit the competition with a price atvantage.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:11:00 +0000

Betty, where are some other comments that you’ve left:

on Samsung Copies Another Apple Design…

“How stupid are they?”

on Google Working On Siri Clone…

“GO AWAY how is that? Sheesh”

on Google Working On Siri Clone…

“Yawn.”

on Apple will stop being cool in 2012…

“Do you have NOTHING better to speculate, rumor or write about? …”

onThe Sad Truth…

“Curious yes what does China or any other country other than the UK do for the world as far as aid?”

Thumbs up for “Trueamerican” on The Sad Truth…

“hell no.. not from america… let some other country, like china grow some balls and send their rice patties over..”

By: Robert Perez

Robert Perez — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:31:00 +0000

Ha! I think this is the best comment on this thread.

By: Robert Perez

Robert Perez — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:24:00 +0000

Wrong. For starters, every TV manufacturer is fighting tooth and nail against everyone else. This limits any one manufacturer from attaining break-out volumes. Once again, Apple will get a leg up with it’s built-in iOS base.

Second, there’s a lot more to R&D than just loading an OS. I know, I was involved with the startup of several servers and PC’s. EVERY new model requires tooling, molds, prototype parts, component compatibility testing, stress testing, etc. If it was as easy as loading some free software from Google, I’d start my own smart TV company.

By: DY

DY — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Well written,
It would be interesting to have some of the apps that run on your phone and tablet run on the tv. games, Wall street journal,iCloud. they may well pull it off.

By: DY

DY — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Well written,
It would be interesting to have some of the apps that run on your phone and tablet run on the tv. games, Wall street journal,iCloud. they may well pull it off.

By: Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill

Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:39:00 +0000

I agree, the whole smart TV thing still needs to mature as far as online content is concerned but it’s getting better year after year. Browsing the internet with a TV will always be dumb, atleast i can’t see myself using my 50″ power sucking plasma TV for that, my tablet is my best friend when it comes to browsing the internet.
P.S you can find full length episodes of certain TV programs on YouTube, like stuff from the History channel or National geographic ect.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

We have many brands in this home, non-Apple, Phones, TV’s etc, and we are new to Apple the past year plus, leading us to wonder why we had not tried them sooner. That is how they get fans, by the quality of their devices, and the WOW factor they bring.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Please don’t be rude

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:02:00 +0000

We’ve got a TV that functions as a TV with picture in picture, etc, 1080p 120mhz refresh rate at the lowest, it adjusts to the content, is connected and runs internet services, almost any you can think of not just Netflx, and it was not that expensive, Oh and it has a blue ray player and so many inputs that it will accept, I’d love something like this put out by Apple and I don’t needd 55 inches, we got rid of ours and went to a smaller size happily.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:02:00 +0000

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Like the IPad, Ipod and Iphone did

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Like the IPad, Ipod and Iphone did

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Well put and so many designs and replica’s of Apple’s products, your review is excellent.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Well put and so many designs and replica’s of Apple’s products, your review is excellent.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:56:00 +0000

I will buy one if it as good as other Apple products, and would ehnance our other Apple products, NOT blind faith that is rather insulting. Crap company? I guess you’ve never purchased Apple devices or don’t own the stock, or sold your stock in the bad days LOL

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

Eye One TV on our big Imac has picture in picture and functions as an HDVR, record, rewind, music, what else could I want? I can watch it on my big TV, Macbook Pro, Ipad etc. I love it.

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

Since there is no new Apple TV the points are moot

By: Dl Betty

Dl Betty — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

Since there is no new Apple TV the points are moot

By: Lemanco

Lemanco — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:20:00 +0000

Did you see a TV with a single cable just to get power, with a-la-carte programming that lets me watch anything I want any time I want anywhere I want and with an integrated kick ass sound system?

By: Lemanco

Lemanco — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:20:00 +0000

Did you see a TV with a single cable just to get power, with a-la-carte programming that lets me watch anything I want any time I want anywhere I want and with an integrated kick ass sound system?

By: ian

ian — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Much better off with a stand alone box, i.e their apple tv, billions have a tv that will connect to a stand alone unit, utilise air drop etc etc, incoming call or text on your phone why stop at iphone integrate the feature via bluetooth and cater for all phones have a notification bar at the top choose apps to install.

picture in picture, imdb or simular link for online content, theres so much missing from a smart tv it hurts…video calling, voice calling, skype, browser is a must, email etc etc.

its all there for the taking…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Its simple, Apple will bring out a TV that won’t be any better than all the other TVs out there and just say they invented TVs and have revolutionized the way we see talkie films and all the ifans will believe them. They will sell tons of them because of blind faith to a crap company.

By: Holden Monaro

Holden Monaro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:11:00 +0000

all the buzz about smart tv’s & i still have trouble getting excited about it. at the moment i can watch tv & video through my son’s xbox360 with kinect. ok, limited content compared to my directv, but not bad. i can use hand gestures to navigate the menu but i dont. of course i tried it but that quickly became old as i had to sit up & wave my hand around or have the lights on. i come home from work to watch tv & relax, not get an aerobic workout. i can talk my way through the menu as well, but that didnt impress either when i’m in the middle of trying to give the xbox a command & the wife starts talking to me from the kitchen. besides, if you have tried talking to a device such as your tv or phone you have to admit it feels really stupid & you only try it out alone so no one sees you. like most people i can navigate using my remote without even looking at it, everyone gets a feel of where the buttons are & i can go directly to my fave channels quicker than hand or voice options.
plus the content is lacking,, who really wants to watch youtube on tv, 2 minute clips, pay extra again for netflix etc. & i doubt my wife is going to quietly sit by while i cruise the internet on the tv when their is a perfectly good computer in the room.

By: Holden Monaro

Holden Monaro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:11:00 +0000

By: Holden Monaro

Holden Monaro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:11:00 +0000

By: Holden Monaro

Holden Monaro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:49:00 +0000

& as i explained to Robert Perez, when it comes to ecosystems the world has already said no thank you to apple. the latest figures that i have read from Gartner show android with 52% worldwide market share & growing while apple is at 15% worldwide market share & dropping.
sure apple had a hit with iphone (even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while), but historically the majority of the world has always chosen whatever alternative there is to apple products. locking in the ecosystem services to one brand of products is something that more & more people are finding they dont like. i bought an xbox for my son & was horrified when i realised i had to make all my content purchases through microsoft’s marketplace, locked down with severe penalties for unauthorized software. it felt like i had lost any choice or control because i couldnt choose what i wanted to put on it from wherever i choose. perhaps people who like the apple ecosystem are the type that are comfortable feeling like that. perhaps that is why i see so many more android phones these days & hear so many more people say “i dont do the iphone thing”.

By: Holden Monaro

Holden Monaro — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:49:00 +0000

By: Walter Adamson

Walter Adamson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:11:00 +0000

Exactly. The writer would apparently label every tablet as a challenger to a the iPad, whereas the vast majority will end up as boat anchors because they dont get that is not about the iron, even with Android. With digital TV we ain’t see nothing yet and the old stuff on steriods at CES2012 is a nice curiousity and little more. Apple has lots of room to move, you might even say that CES2012 proved that!

By: Walter Adamson

Walter Adamson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:11:00 +0000

By: Walter Adamson

Walter Adamson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:11:00 +0000

By: Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill

Maria Fe Camaya O'Neill — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:16:00 +0000

There will be tons of competition for Apple in the smart TV arena. Intergrated Google TV’s have already been announced at CES and LG has been working with Google directly in an effort to produce the first ICS/Google powered TV. Samsung has announced it’s intentions to do the same and add to that, Microsoft with their xbox/kinect smart TV solutions. Sony will want to do their own thing as well but if their wise they will find away to run ICS on their consoles and join the Andriod camp with their TV’s. The big three players in the smart TV will definetly be Google, Apple and Microsoft, Sony has alot of work to do if it wants to improve the PS3/internet experience on there own. In any case Apple will do well with their fan base, what i’m waiting for is to see if they can come up with something that would attract non Apple users.