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Apple announces iTV as AppleTV, out in Feb.

Last month, someone emailed me something that I posted here, claiming an Apple/TiVo relationship. It got picked up widely, but today at Macworld, Steve Jobs announced "AppleTV" formally without mentioning TiVo.

I never mentioned a second email I got from "the insider" which was basically "Apple is going to take over and own Pay-Per-View on your TV with this device." Seeing the device today, with a hard drive and storage for five downloaded 720p movies and music/movie streaming capabilities from five other computers, I tend to think that second prediction is right on. Ever since iTunes started offering movies, the next logical step was how to get it on your TV instead of your computer (I use a Denon iPod dock that transmits video and works well). With iTV, Apple finally gets your media into your living room. Here are the specs on it:

• usb2, ethernet, wifi (802.11 b, g, and n), HDMI and component
• 40Gb hard drive
• up to 720p video from iTunes
• auto sync content from 1 PC
• stream content from 5 additional PCs
• Use itunes to sync movies from Mac to iTV - place what movies you want on iTV's local store
• Does Video, Pictures, and Music
• $299

It's supposed to be on sale today and shipping next month after the keynote is over (store will be inundated for a few hours I bet). I'm gonna pick one up today if I can and post a full review next month after I've had it for a week or so.

by Matt Haughey January 9, 2007 in News

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