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I would agree with that. There's a lot of link/post bait on this site - more than from what I remember a few years back. Then again - competition is greater.



Never said that's all it would do. And if that IS all it did but was offered free with prime membership - I think it could still be successful as a means to stream movies/tv shows to a TV that isn't "connected" of which there are millions out there.

I guess we'll see what is released when it's released. Until then - I guess we'll read a lot of posts about "fail" or the like. Silly nonsense if you ask me.


i have 3 HDMI ports on my TV, all used up. i'm actually an Prime member but rarely watch instant video. netflix is better now

amazon should just have partnered with Roku and worked to get their software onto more devices like netflix does.
 
And here's where I understand Apple's "stance" but at the same time don't agree.

It would appear (to me) that Apple has no interest in creating apps for any devices other than their own.

But I ask - is it better/worse to lose out on a piece of $99 hardware or the revenue stream from movies/tv/etc if someone can use the Apple ecosystem on another device.

Personally I think there's more money to be made with book, music and video purchases in the long term. But perhaps I'm wrong. And again - I don't think Apple cares - they've decided their ecosystem will be Apple product only.

Apple has stated before that iTunes stores exist to drive hardware sales. The stores essentially operate at break-even after you factor in overhead.

The ATV probably doesn't cost Apple very much to make. It's basically a low-end iPad with screen and battery stripped out. There's very little r&d cost in the hardware (software is a different story but based on the rate of progress I can't imagine they're spending too much there either). I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of Apple's higher-margin products, even at just $99.

Maybe it will never be a huge money-maker like the iPhone, but it can be an important bolster of the iOS ecosystem, driving sales of other devices indirectly.
 
I use roku 3 and apple tv... if apple had apps it would be nice but then roku has porn (private channels) and I don't see apple doing that...

I don't especially want to stream from my iphone to apple tv... plus things like vudu need a native app to perform well.

I use berlin phil's digital concert hall, and that is only native on certain devices (mostly sony but not ps3) and through airplay through iphone.

apple tv can do porn as well
 
Apple is really dropping the ball by not allowing third party apps on the AppleTV. The space is wide open, and Amazon offers a great product with Prime. If they capitalize on that with a cheap set top box that allows apps, they can really own the space.
Apple has a great opportunity to change the whole industry with an app-enabled ATV. Video games, channel-specific streaming, etc. there's huge demand for this, and while I'm sure they're working on it, they can't wait forever.

You can basically get all of that using your iPhone/iPad and Airplay, but it would be great to just have the apps directly on the device rather than depend on two devices.

Now that HBO GO supports airplay the quality seems comparable to what streams via Netflix directly on the box.
 
Steve should never have told Walter Isaacson that he "cracked it" referring to the iTV.
Telegraphed too much to the rest of the industry.

Somewhere Steve Jobs is laughing his @$$ off. He didn't have any idea about how to make a killer Apple TV. He said that because he knew that all the other mfg would fall all over themselves and spend billions in an effort to catch up to something that Apple never intended to produce. It was one final practical joke because he knew that the lemmings that have chased Apple for years would madly grab onto it and run off the cliff with a product that he knew that would go nowhere.
 
You can basically get all of that using your iPhone/iPad and Airplay, but it would be great to just have the apps directly on the device rather than depend on two devices.

Now that HBO GO supports airplay the quality seems comparable to what streams via Netflix directly on the box.

I really am confused by that. HBO GO and Cinemax GO work via airplay....why not just add an app like they did with HULU.
 
Is that a customer concern? Or a stockholder concern?


Probably both. It has been two years and Amazon's strategy with the Fire does not seem to be paying off for them. Maybe we will see something tomorrow that shows signs of improvement. As a customer, buying into an eco-system that does not have a sustainable model is a poor decision.

They have done it right with books (disconnecting content from devices) which is why all of my books come from Amazon. They are certainly trying to do the same with video and music too. Those are good signs. If I could easily watch Amazon videos on the Apple TV (without desktop mirroring), I would buy a lot more video from Amazon.

I know Apple has something to say about that, but my concern is if Apple does allow the App, will Amazon produce it? Will they instead try and push their own device they hope to subsidize with content? I think Amazon would make the App, but it is an area for concern.
 
You think it's about the hardware. I'm arguing that it's the ecosystem. I don't think Amazon cares about device penetration as a pie percentage. They're gunning for ecosystem domination.

The original kindle wasn't and still isn't really made to dominate the ereader market. It's made to get you locked into/invested into Amazon's bookstore.



Which I did mention in my post.
 
Apple is really dropping the ball by not allowing third party apps on the AppleTV. The space is wide open, and Amazon offers a great product with Prime. If they capitalize on that with a cheap set top box that allows apps, they can really own the space.
Apple has a great opportunity to change the whole industry with an app-enabled ATV. Video games, channel-specific streaming, etc. there's huge demand for this, and while I'm sure they're working on it, they can't wait forever.

Wait for fall please...
 
Somewhere Steve Jobs is laughing his @$$ off. He didn't have any idea about how to make a killer Apple TV. He said that because he knew that all the other mfg would fall all over themselves and spend billions in an effort to catch up to something that Apple never intended to produce. It was one final practical joke because he knew that the lemmings that have chased Apple for years would madly grab onto it and run off the cliff with a product that he knew that would go nowhere.

Actually, no. What he did was force the hands of those interested in this new direction to come out and invest billions with early product attempts.

Meanwhile, akin to the iPod, Apple will role out their end-to-end ecosystem solution that hooks in OS X, iOS products, iTunes/Appstore Ecosystem and people will `just get it.'

It's the same reason Steve appointed Jony will all that authority inside Apple. He left their plans in good hands.
 
I'm going to tweet and post here that I have cracked the watch, touch payment, ebooks, cars and A.I.

I've just given away EVERYTHING to anyone who would ever invent something or who already has it in their pipeline. I've just screwed myself over!! :eek:

you left out the iShunt - direct internet access to your brain...
 
I really am confused by that. HBO GO and Cinemax GO work via airplay....why not just add an app like they did with HULU.

I was just saying that when I stream HBOGO via Airplay to my apple TV, the video quality is comparable to the native Netflix app running on my apple TV.

I was expecting Airplay to have much worse video quality, but it's gotten much better in the recent revisions of iOS.
 
netflix is already experiencing a slight decline in its market as people just share their username and password with everyone.

Decline? You must have missed their quarterly announcement a couple days ago. User base and $$ are at all time highs for them. Also reported that they will be cracking down more on account sharing.
 
What TV...

TV is soooo over at least for the younger generation. Watching movies on a tablet is just fine, same generation does not care about big screen experience anymore :D
 
Apple has stated before that iTunes stores exist to drive hardware sales. The stores essentially operate at break-even after you factor in overhead.

The ATV probably doesn't cost Apple very much to make. It's basically a low-end iPad with screen and battery stripped out. There's very little r&d cost in the hardware (software is a different story but based on the rate of progress I can't imagine they're spending too much there either). I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of Apple's higher-margin products, even at just $99.

Maybe it will never be a huge money-maker like the iPhone, but it can be an important bolster of the iOS ecosystem, driving sales of other devices indirectly.

Apple's statement came a long time ago. Horace from Asymco offers more recent insight into the profitability of the stores.

http://www.asymco.com/2013/03/22/so-long-break-even/

I'm under the belief that Apple needs to be more aggressive in promoting iTunes content and not succumbing to the desire to be a larger Roku.
 
Give it a decade or so.

They are slowly killing their competition*

While I agree that Amazon has a crazy valuation, the reality is they are in the process of building a "legal monopoly" the likes of which we may have never seen before.

Once Amazon has built enough infrastructure and made enough deals (all while running on savagely thin margins) they will have legally suffocated* a good portion of the market. Once that happens they can get down the business of making money.

Lots. Of. Money.

With no effective competition and the cost of trying to compete coming with an astronomical** start up price to even take a (statistically dangerous) stab at it, Amazon will be able to charge what they or their shareholders want.

Not saying this will end up happening, but that's the long game - and the one which Wall St is very, highly interested in.

Karl P


* If not by shutting them down outright, then by using market pressure to force them to succumb to use amazon for payment processing, distribution or even their IT infrastructure.

** Billions upon Billions upon Billions

AMZN is big in N. America but outside the US and Canada, it is doing poorly or okay. IMO, AMZN can never be successful in China, India, Brazil or other developing counties. Also, once the US online sales tax is in place, people will buy less from AMZN because the cost saving is gone. I currently buy more from Walmart.com or Costco.com than AMZN.
 
You might be correct here. The problem is....Apple does it worst (well almost). I like my Apple TV just fine, but it does not compare to my Roku (or even Xbox and PS). The interface looks nicer, but that is about it. Functionality, ease of use, amount of content, etc all go to Roku, Xbox, PS3, and other devices.

Which, given how much functionality the above lack, is really damning wrt tthe Apple TV. ATV refuses to mount a network share to play media. Roku refuses to play AVI / divx.

I'll stick with my Boxee Box until such a time that someone else makes a box that's actually better for something other than their limited selection of for-pay streaming content.
 
Which, given how much functionality the above lack, is really damning wrt tthe Apple TV. ATV refuses to mount a network share to play media. Roku refuses to play AVI / divx.

I'll stick with my Boxee Box until such a time that someone else makes a box that's actually better for something other than their limited selection of for-pay streaming content.

I use my Boxee Box every day. It's still the best media streamer available, IMO. I bought a ATV3 a few months ago, and use it for iTunes media, but it's a pain to convert everything to ATV format.
 
Why...

would they build their own box when they have so many devices that support Amazon Instant out there?

The ones that I have used work very well and are generally easy to use. In addition, I would imagine that Amazon gets some sort of royalty from these companies that it would not get from selling a box directly.
 
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