Full FeedCould Apple TV be the “wildcard” on September 9th?
The first thoughts were that Apple would release a tablet device around September. Apple confirmed the September 9th event would be going ahead, and from the invitations, signs pointed to an iPod/music themed event. While it’s still possible that a tablet—or iPad, as it may be called—could still appear at the event, it’s more plausible that we’ll see a refresh to the iPod line, and possibly a long-awaited update to the Apple TV.
The Apple TV’s hardware has been the same for over two years. In the technology industry, that’s a long time for something to go unchanged. If that doesn’t indicate an update, how about the current Apple TV delivery times? The 160GB model ships “Within 24hrs,” while the smaller 40GB model has a delay of “1 - 2 weeks.” Wall Street Analyst, Gene Munster has been following the Apple TV since its launch, and said he had never seen the device fall two weeks behind in shipping estimates. He believes this may be a result of Apple trying to phase out the lower-end model, which would leave a gap in the product category. The timing of this delay—appearing a week before the September 9th event—certainly leaves things open as to what could appear.
We continue to believe that Apple will eventually offer a monthly subscription for iTunes TV shows accessible on Apple TV, iPods, iPhones, and Macs/PCs. Apple could leverage its deep library of content with many network and cable channel content owners to provide unlimited access to a sub-library of its TV shows for a standard monthly fee ($30 to $40 per month).
The quote taken from Munster’s report speaks about additions that could be made to the Apple TV to include a subscription service to your favorite TV shows. This would certainly make the Apple TV a lot more useful and usable for a lot of it’s customers.
An upgrade to the Apple TV and the release of a subscription-based service integrated into the device would be great to see at next week’s event from San Francisco. Have you been holding off buying an Apple TV in the hope of an update coming in the near future? Let us know below!
Via [AppleInsider]
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I’ve been holding off on AppleTV since I’ve been holding off on HDTV, but then I’ve been holding off on that in part because of holding off on AppleTV. I might be foolishly waiting for an AppleTV with 1080p output, but I doubt they will have 1080p content for a long time since HDTV is mostly only 720p, and 1080p movies would be really big.
I’m really hoping for Apple to introduce a TV subscription model. However, it seems they might also need more shows before that could replace my cable subscription. Of course, if I drop my Comcast cable TV, then they will want the $10/moth or so extra. The advantage would be that I could view my shows easily on any device, including the 2nd AppleTV I’d have to get for the bedroom.
on September 6, 2009 at 01:24 PM - LINK