Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Amazon's Fire TV Looks A Lot Like the Rumored Apple TV Update

appleguy123 said:
I think it would have made a stronger statement if it were $49. Be as good as the Apple TV at a price closer to Chromecast.
Click to expand...

Yep with a $49 they could have taken the market by storm. At $99 it could be tough for them to gain traction without a huge developer community for games etc.
That said, they do have an impressive range of titles, though it might have been a good chance for them to launch a cloud storage program for people's existing media.

Bottom line: if you don't have a big ecosystem and fanbase, you need to run at a loss for a bit to get one (see windows phone)
 
HappyDude20 said:
Apple is definitely just kicking back seeing their competitors release all these products, while I'm sure the competitors are just as scared for when Apple announces a keynote event and readys to impress everyone.

This Fire TV from Amazon can essentially be a software update from Apple.

Theres a reason why Apple has remained quiet in recent times concerning this space...

It's because they're preparing to strike.

Can't wait for the new Apple TV. :D
Click to expand...

They better have a lot to offer .. because they have sure been left behind in the useful category of the ATV. Can't run any other apps (plex, etc) unless you have the ATV2 and its JB'd .. unless you buy all your content from iTunes it's just about useless.
 
I may try it out - but I am pretty happy with my Roku right now. And AppleTV is just out due to its lack of codecs and locking out of Plex. My view of the AppleTV is that they should give them out free since they are so tied to Apple content.
 
HenryDJP said:
Day by day I keep forgetting this is an Apple Enthusiast forum because most of what I see are people showing so much hatred towards Apple and praise for their competition, especially when the competition hasn't really done much in the past to earn so much adulation from the people here. Apple's competition does one or two decent things and all of a sudden the usual Apple sucks one liners roll out while calling other people sheep for liking what Apple offers. My mistake, I guess people aren't allowed to like and purchase Apple products nor are they allowed to celebrate Apple on an a dedicated Apple enthusiasts board without being labeled an iSheep. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Apple has always been a rather polarizing company due to their arrogant elitist attitude. They've brought the criticism on themselves. With the demise of Steve Jobs, the world's greatest narcissist and salesman, they're left to compete on a level playing field, losing the advantage they once enjoyed.

Now two years later with nothing revolutionary, save for the showpiece called Mac Pro, Apple faces an uncertain future. Oh sure they've got vast amounts of cash to keep them fat and happy, yet future products are still vaporware at this juncture.
 
lk400 said:
Precisely!! This is why the iPod, iPhone and iPad were remarkable successes as apple was first to market for each of the MP3 player, touch screen smart phone and tablet products!
Click to expand...

Actually, no they weren't. Your statement just proved the OP's point. MP3 players were around before the iPod. The iPod (and later the iTunes store, along with Windows compatibility) was the first one that resonated with the masses. There were touch screen phones before the iPhone. But the iPhone changed it up, and leveraged the iPod/iTunes ecosystem to pull in the masses. The iPad was beat to market by at least 10 by other tablets. But it was the first one that made sense to the masses.
 
TPadden said:
Something really made me laugh about an "early adapter" complaining about lack of support for a rear-projection TV :D!
Click to expand...
I don't know, if it ain't broke why fix it? As I said, my early-adapted Sony HDTV does some things better than many of the flat-screen, 16:9 TVs of today. For one, projected light systems have a quality that is unlike that produced by LCDs or plasmas. That's one reason why I think that my next upgrade will be an HD projection system, not a flat-screen TV.
 
fpnc said:
I don't know, if it ain't broke why fix it? ......
Click to expand...

Not arguing with you, or even disagreeing. Still funny and somewhat contradictory.:)

A true "early adapter" seldom waits for something to break. They believe: If it ain't broke, fix it until it is. :D
 
samcraig said:
You think that Amazon just started this project based on rumors? Really? Yeah. OK.



Amazon the stock is not the same as Amazon the company. Should we list out the times that analysts have claimed that Apple has not impressed analysts?

Completely irrelevant to what may or may not be a sales win for Amazon.

I'm actually surprised YOU of all people are quoting an analyst.
Click to expand...

I quoted him because I think what he said is accurate. I couldn't care less whether he has a buy rating on AMZN or not. What is the killer feature that this device has that will get people to leave ATV, Roku, XBox or PlayStation? As I said before I think this is like the Kindle Fire's. Nice, and probably something for those already invested in Prime, but I don't see it as any sort of game changer.
 
Rogifan said:
....What is the killer feature that this device has that will get people to leave ATV, Roku, XBox or PlayStation? .....
Click to expand...

The thing you discount the most; Amazon Shoppers. All of which know how to shop on the internet, are fairly comfortable with Amazon, but most have never seen ATV or Roku.

You are right that most who already have a device probably won't buy Fire TV, but you and the analyst are probably wrong about it's future sales failure.
 
Rogifan said:
I quoted him because I think what he said is accurate. I couldn't care less whether he has a buy rating on AMZN or not. What is the killer feature that this device has that will get people to leave ATV, Roku, XBox or PlayStation? As I said before I think this is like the Kindle Fire's. Nice, and probably something for those already invested in Prime, but I don't see it as any sort of game changer.
Click to expand...

Well who said it had to be a game changer? Overly high expectation. Why can't it just be Amazon entering the streaming box market with their own offering?

Further - why the need for people to LEAVE? Don't you think there are plenty of people who don't yet own a streaming box that make up a good sized market?

I don't think many people "leave" one platform for another. I think if one has an Apple TV - they might also buy a Roku or chromecast or whatever as an additional unit with other functions they like or want. And if you own a Roku, you might also buy an AppleTV for what it can do.

It doesn't and often isn't ONE of the OTHER.
 
Rogifan said:
What is the killer feature that this device has that will get people to leave ATV, Roku, XBox or PlayStation?
Click to expand...

For me, it would be the speech recognition, assuming it works. Trying to access a streaming library with thousands of titles using cursor keys is simply not possible. Typing in a title or an actor's name using cursor keys on a virtual keyboard is, frankly, a ridiculous UI failure and very un-Apple-like.

I'll stop short of saying it's a killer feature though, because Amazon has only enabled it for the Amazon app. They need to enable speech recognition for any app using its text input API (except for specialized fields like passwords of course).
 
Popcorn

Sorry if this has already been covered... But am I the only one who is kinda bothered by the popcorn scattered around the Fire TV? Looks messy and sloppy. I don't know about Amazon, but I don't leave food laying around my Tv
 
Amazed @ The Hate...

It's so strange and laughable in the same how people get so upset when Apple the "Pioneers" of technology don't get a product to market first!! I own every :Apple device known to man and I'm certainly not biased or upset with this fantastic product that has hit the market, AMAZON HIT THE MARK!! Pay homage where it's due and stop crying like babies... Apple TV has lagged behind this growing market in more ways than one..
 
sixrom said:
Apple has always been a rather polarizing company due to their arrogant elitist attitude. They've brought the criticism on themselves. With the demise of Steve Jobs, the world's greatest narcissist and salesman, they're left to compete on a level playing field, losing the advantage they once enjoyed.

Now two years later with nothing revolutionary, save for the showpiece called Mac Pro, Apple faces an uncertain future. Oh sure they've got vast amounts of cash to keep them fat and happy, yet future products are still vaporware at this juncture.
Click to expand...

And you're here on an Apple enthusiast forum because????:rolleyes:

Your post history says it all. Nearly every one of your posts are flaming Apple. I'll give a ring to the moderator and inform them. It's against forum rules to intentionally flame.
 
bdkennedy1 said:
Really? Like Samsung's POS watch or Google's POS glasses? Xerox created the mouse. Apple made it into something almost every person on the planet uses.
Click to expand...

Xerox created the mouse. Windows PC made it into something every person on the planet uses. Very few people used Apple computers back then. Even now Mac share is still about 5% worldwide.
 
samcraig said:
Well who said it had to be a game changer? Overly high expectation. Why can't it just be Amazon entering the streaming box market with their own offering?

Further - why the need for people to LEAVE? Don't you think there are plenty of people who don't yet own a streaming box that make up a good sized market?

I don't think many people "leave" one platform for another. I think if one has an Apple TV - they might also buy a Roku or chromecast or whatever as an additional unit with other functions they like or want. And if you own a Roku, you might also buy an AppleTV for what it can do.

It doesn't and often isn't ONE of the OTHER.
Click to expand...
I don't think it has to be a game changer, and hence why I don't think its an Apple/Roku/whatever killer (the meme some in the media are pushing). As I said before I think this will be a lot like the Kindle Fire. Will sell well to people really invested in Amazon ecosystem, e.g. Prime. But I don't see much of a dent to sales of Roku or ATV. The only way I could see ATV taking a hit is if either it doesn't get an update this year or the update is very minor.

----------
TPadden said:
The thing you discount the most; Amazon Shoppers. All of which know how to shop on the internet, are fairly comfortable with Amazon, but most have never seen ATV or Roku.

You are right that most who already have a device probably won't buy Fire TV, but you and the analyst are probably wrong about it's future sales failure.
Click to expand...

We'll never know because Amazon never reveals sales figures. I'm sure like the Kindle Fire it will sell well and top some list(s) on amazon.com. But I'm not sure how much share it will take from existing players.
 
ChipperVW said:
Sorry if this has already been covered... But am I the only one who is kinda bothered by the popcorn scattered around the Fire TV? Looks messy and sloppy. I don't know about Amazon, but I don't leave food laying around my Tv
Click to expand...

I was more bothered by the awful Gary Busey advert for it. God that guy looks rough and you just know he has no idea where he is :)

If I didn't have a Apple TV then this would have interested me since I have an amazon prime account but no way to watch it other than computer. I have netflix so it's no biggie.
 
The "just works' things is Apple's line, not Amazon...

More technically, its better i'd give you that, now lets see it get infected :) :D

Either Amazon's has a "all-you-can-not-eat" issue, or Apple just needs to play catch-up.

Either way... the Apple TV is still smaller.... for one, you need to find "extra" room for the Amazon Fire, and i'd worry about other issues too.
 
HenryDJP said:
And you're here on an Apple enthusiast forum because????:rolleyes:

Your post history says it all. Nearly every one of your posts are flaming Apple. I'll give a ring to the moderator and inform them. It's against forum rules to intentionally flame.
Click to expand...

Remember the days when a forum was used for open discussion and everyone was entitled to their opinion. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make his posts "reportable."

Tech198 said:
The "just works' things is Apple's line, not Amazon...

More technically, its better i'd give you that, now lets see it get infected :) :D

Either Amazon's has a "all-you-can-not-eat" issue, or Apple just needs to play catch-up.

Either way... the Apple TV is still smaller.... for one, you need to find "extra" room for the Amazon Fire, and i'd worry about other issues too.
Click to expand...

I don't even understand your post. And your last point is ridiculous.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Apple sales were $1B+ last year... on a product it hardly markets. I don't think any honest assessment can suggest Apple has dropped the ball. Fire TV as of April 1 sold exactly $0 so it has a long way to go to catch up in that regard.
Click to expand...

Funny, your post sounds almost exactly like Steve Ballmer's giggling rant when the iPhone was introduced.
 
SchneiderMan said:
Amazon played a Samsung card, producing products based on popular Apple rumors.
Click to expand...

Or Amazon has had a streaming box product on their radar and in development for longer than any rumor of a new AppleTV box - saw product gaps and responded accordingly to that.

Believe it or not - the entire world does not revolve around what Apple does or what RUMORS say they are doing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back