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Apple 'Home Appliance'?

I hope this article is not another "cheese grater" G5 joke -- I just can't imagine an Apple kitchen appliance.
 
How about an Apple IP Fridge? We have an IP Fridge in our R&D lab, and it's pretty sweet. Pretty expensive, pretty impractical, but pretty sweet! ;) There's a nice built-in LCD screen in it, so you can watch digital TV or surf the Net, and it has a nice inventory system to tell you what's in the fridge, when things are running out and it can go online to re-order. Oh, and it's accessible through the Internet (hence IP Fridge!) so you can access it anywhere online!

Ah, gotta love expensive toys and R&D labs. :cool:
 
Originally posted by Ja Di ksw
One of my friends worked in a store that sold tv's, monitors, etc. He said the gateway plasma's were cr**, they had horrible picture quality, didn't work well, etc.
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Having evaluated a few myself, I'd have to concur. The loss-leader ones are all "EDTV" ("Enhanced Definition" ... better than standard 720x480-ish, but not anywhere near 1240x768 HDTV). Compared to the few other "EDTV" sets out there, they've got generally worse pictures and higher prices. And the HDTV models don't compare to the competition at all.

Wasn't impressed with Gateway at all.
 
Originally posted by impierced
I think that would be the appeal for Apple to get into this market... the subscription. Additional revenue streams for Apple are "a good thing".
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I see the opposite approach. As with Music, Apple removed the dominating subscription model with the reasoning, "people aren't used to renting music". Well, people aren't used to renting their VCRs either. The trick is: where, then, would Apple make the money? A constant stream of larger-drive upgrades maybe? Who knows ...
 
Originally posted by Lanbrown
Goes right along with people that think they have a digital TV and most of them don't have a single digital input. How many TV’s were advertised as "digital ready" several years ago before any TV had a DVI input? Digital TV with analog inputs, umm, yeah.
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Well, they were digital ready. I mean, you can just plug any HDTV or satellite receiver into them via the analog inputs ...
 
A refreshing change

I almost didn't look into this thread at all. Figured it could only be a lot more whining about what Apple hasn't done for us lately.

All the humor is especially welcome. Nice to see a few people taking this rumor less seriously than, say, JJ's nipple shield. :)
 
Questions . . .

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
why did apple insider even print this?:rolleyes: :confused:
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And an even better question: why did this make the front page? Arn? Seems like this is Page 2 fodder.
 
Digital? In that case, I'll buy it!

Originally posted by jettredmont
Well, they were digital ready. I mean, you can just plug any HDTV or satellite receiver into them via the analog inputs ...
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Heh heh. Reminds me of seeing the term "digital-ready" on headphones with 1/8" connectors.

The sad thing is, these kinds of marketing ploys appear to be quite effective.
 
An iTv would be pretty cool...

You'd be able to download TV shows and movies the same way that you download songs off iTunes.

-ko
 
iBox + iSpeaker + iPad + Mac = mobile home entertainment solution

I reckon Apple will release a Tivo/HD/WiFi Receiver top box AND a Pad-like touch/colour-screen remote (and possible an display as well) controlling BOTH the Mac in the house and the iBox.

Why?

So you can be entertained in every room of your house without tied down in any fixed room (eg. TV/Hi-Fi/Theare/Lounge room) considering there are wireless speakers - ha! wireless iSpeakers or build into the iPad

imagine listening to your tunes from the Mac on your steareo in one room or many rooms controlled by iPad

while the family is watching a DVD - you continue watching the DVD when you go answer the door across the hall on the iPad

other functions are all depend on how far the iBox & iPad's function go (could be a Tablet!)... there were a lot of good ideas said by others already
 
What?

Personally, I think its going to be overpriced, and cause people to sit at home, on the couch, drinkin' pepsi, gettin' fat, downloadin' stuff, eatin' McDonalds.
HAAHAHA. Count me in.
 
Originally posted by rogueimage
The only real possibilities I see are some sort of stereo system which integrates with the iPod and a DVR (like Tivo).

Apple could probably make a significantly better hard-drive based stereo component than what already exists. It would need to have a large (touch?) screen, and an iTunes like interface for playing songs. Nothing like this has really been popularized yet, but I think it could fill a gap.

I'm not sure what they could do in the DVR market, I just hope they would do it without a stupid subscription fee.
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Yeah, think about it. a DVR/TiVo like thing, to push movies sold through the iFlix video store, to be launched in the US this summer, in Europe somewhere in 2010 (hopefully). By the way, I remember seeing pictures of an iBox some time ago that did just that. Wasn't it rumored to be launched at MWSF?

let me see if I can find the link...

edit: found it. it's at the top of page 3 of this thread. Sorry about that. But the iFlix movie store still seems nice...

M.
 
Re: Re: Apple Branded Car Audio

Originally posted by JohnGillilan
I have been thinking about this for the last year or so. All of the car solutions available are crappy -- iTrip/iRock sound terrible and tape adapters tend to break within months. I just recently bought a new JVC car stereo b/c it has a 1/8" aux input on the front panel. I think an Apple branded car stereo, if priced effectively . . . . . , would really sell.
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Have you actually used the iTrip? I have no problems with mine, which I bought the day it came out - and hasn't broken yet. Sure, I get some interference in high-saturation locations, and near EM interference sources, but the same is true of the radio.
 
Originally posted by reedm007
Well, but look at Apple's past...

Newton
QuickTake
ImageWriter/LaserWriter

And other projects like Pippin, MacTV...

They've always meddled in other things besides computers.
...
Apple's always been a computer company that wants to be more than just that.
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And all of those are markets they eventually abandoned because competitors made cheaper and/or better products. It's still too early to dub the iPod a success, FTM.

And yes, all of these products are a distraction from the core business and do take away from the computer product development. We have Steve's word on that (what he said at the time of the Newton discontinuation in 1997).

It would be far better if they just aspired to be a computer company and cut out all the other garbage.
 
iHammer

iHammer. An ordinary carpenter's hammer with a FireWire cord attached to the bottom of the handle.

WARNING: May not be compatible with Panther.

Check third party vendor for firmware update before connecting to Panther Mac.
=-=
JJ
 
mr-radar.jpg


Stick with the classics
 
The most desired device ....

for my part would be cell phone done right,,,,meaning, bluetooth, wi-fi, 64 megs of flash, SDIO slot, 2 or 3 megapixel camera, possibly a .8" inch hard drive ....that would be one seriously cool device and would unencumber me considerably (one device vs 3) ... it won't happen because Apple is into taking baby steps .... not to start a flame war , but apart from the iPod where has Apple innovated (and I mean new ground-breaking products) ... I remember when Apple had a full line of products (digital cameras, printers, scanners etc etc) .... these days it seems to be all about software
 
Re: The most desired device ....

possibly a 8" inch hard drive ....that would be one seriously cool device and would unencumber me considerably
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt that a phone with an 8" hard drive would unencumber you....:p
 
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