The all new Apple TV
In addition to refreshing their iPod lineup yesterday, Apple also updated the Apple TV to its second generation. The new version comes without any inbuilt memory and is 1/4th the size of its predecessor.
According to Steve Jobs, Apple has redesigned this as per their customers’ preferences. Here are some of its key features:
- Built in power supply: The new Apple TV has built in 6W universal power supply. Just plug the supplied power cord and you are all set.
- 802.11n Wi-Fi: The fastest Wi-Fi standard. This is built in the new Apple TV. Lets you stream HD content smoothly.
- Ports: HDMI, Optical audio, Ethernet and micro-USB ports at the back of the device. Note that the micro-USB port is for service and support only and cannot be used to connect a USB hard drive or pen drive.
- Apple A4 chip: Apple TV uses the same processor as the iPhone 4 and the iPad. The Apple A4 chip is custom made by Apple and is optimized for media consumption.
- Apple Remote: Apple TV comes with a dead simple aluminum Apple remote which works over infrared. However, you can also use your iPhone or iPod touch (if they are in the same WiFi network as Apple TV) to control it. You need to download the Remote app from App store for this which also supports gestures!
- NetFlix: If you are a NetFlix subscriber, you can access the complete NetFlix library on your Apple TV. According to Jobs, this is the best implementation of NetFlix yet.
- AirPlay (coming soon): This is the next version of AirTunes. With AirPlay, you can play content from any of your iDevices on your Apple TV. Since its no more limited to just tunes and lets you even play videos and watch photo slideshows on your TV.
- Price: The new Apple TV is priced at $99, which is less than half of what its predecessor used to cost. According to Jobs, this price has also been kept keeping customer feedback in mind. I personally think this has been done to compete with alternatives like Roku.
Those were all the good parts. Now here is a list of things that we didn’t like:
- No Full HD support: The Apple TV only supports up to 720p playback. This is so #fail. If 1080p content is not available on the iTunes store, it should at least be able to stream that off PC and play it on the TV.
- No DivX support: Honestly, no home entertainment product is complete without DivX playback support.
A lot of people were expecting the new version to have iOS. That didn’t happen. The basic reason behind that is probably because iOS is Apple’s mobile OS and Apple TV is not a mobile device. It might happen in the distant future, but not anytime soon.
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wow….Apple is thriving with it's new product range. No wonder they are the best in terms of technology with great customer satisfaction. Hope Indian Cos can bring such kind of ideas for Indian consumers.
Cheers !!!