Appletell

Have you ever wished you could combine your dying TiVo and your barely used Apple TV into one device that you might just use a little more? If so, then your wish has come true, as some patent filings depicting DVR functionality have been released lately. Although they were originally filed in October 2006, the images filed were revealed and publicized just recently. The filing shows a DVR with touch sensitive remote control and an on-screen guide.

The remote resembles a click wheel style iPod with a display for information. The remote would be portable, and would allow the user to set a show to record from anywhere. Another remote concept involves a square or rectangle instead of a click wheel. A sort of “dock” would be used as the main menu for the DVR, allowing the user to perform functions such as record and search. Menus are displayed next to video content, which is pushed to the side and reflected, essentially removing any interruption from menu use.

Of course, these are just patents and do not promise anything. However, I’ll be on the watch for this device.

Via [AppleInsider]

These days, it seems like everything you own needs some sort of Skype integration. Your fridge, your phone, and now, your AppleTV. A Canadian teen has hacked the device to get it working with a wireless keyboard and a GPS unit. The idea is to use your AppleTV as an in-car media center. Apparently, later this month, he will be releasing an update which will use the Skype API to allow you to make Skpe calls from your car. You can use a bluetooth headset or a skype phone, and dial the number with the Apple remote. Pretty cool, but I can imagine how many accidents this will cause. Imagine trying to dial with an Apple remote at 60 miles an hour.

Via [AppleTV Hacks]

A lot of people were really happy to hear Steve Jobs’ announcement at yesterday’s Macworld that you will be able to rent movies directly from iTunes. The movie rentals cost $2.99 for library rentals, and $3.99 for new releases. The piece that sealed the deal during the keynote was the fact that you would be able to get the HD versions of movies for only $1 more per rental.

Well Ars dug up a little more information from an Apple rep yesterday, and it turns out you will not be able to use the rent-to-own feature on HD movies. If you thought that was bad, to add insult to injury, the movies are only available for rental from your AppleTV. I don’t know if this is Apple’s way of making you buy an AppleTV, or just a safety precaution for customers who aren’t smart enough to realize they can’t get HD on their iPods, but it sucks.

I like high quality video, and if I could pay $1 more for HD, even if it was only on my computer, it would be a lot more worth it to me and I’d be more inclined to rent or purchase it. Apple made a few mistakes yesterday, it should be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Read [Ars]

Photo by MacRumors

Apple TV “Take 2” was announced at MacWorld. It sports a great, fresh interface that consists of a two column centered box. In the two columns are the options, arranged as in column view in the finder. (See above picture)

The AppleTV no longer needs a computer to get movies and rentals. It has WiFi and you can make purchases and rentals right from your living room. You can get DVD quality video and HD + Dolby 5.1.

Apple hopes that iTunes movie rentals and the non need of a computer will push the AppleTV’s success in the video market.

Sporting a light version of Apple’s Myriad Pro font, the Macworld 2008 posters are mysterious as always, proclaiming that “there’s something in the air.”

A logical guess would be that there will be wireless advancements, including movie rentals from iTunes streamed wirelessly. Then again, it could have nothing to do with wireless at all. These posters are sure to fuel speculation and guesses all over the internet for the remaining 3 days until MacWorld.

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Like a media extender but worse, the Apple TV has been highly criticized several times this year. Recently, rumors have been spreading regarding the discontinuation of Apple’s media center in a box. And what a better time for Yahoo to include the product on their tech “Worst of 2007” list. What, you may ask, caused Yahoo to place this device on their list? Actually, Yahoo gave a few decent reasons. Videos aren’t purchasable over the box, Apple has failed to provide ample software updates, and the video selection is slim.

Yahoo is surprisingly right. I’ve never desired to own one, and for a couple of hundred bucks more, I can go out and purchase a full featured Mac Mini, with Front Row running on it for the same interface. Microsoft seems to have made their way to the living room quicker than Apple did. Their Media Center and Media Center Extenders are nearly full featured, with DVR functions included. Apple’s first-gen living room product seems to have failed to make it, and may not be seen ever again if discontinued.

Read [Yahoo] Via [TUAW]

Yes, this rumor has been spread and told a million times, but now Bloomberg’s confirming it. And when Bloomberg confirms it, you know that it’s a load of crap real.

The financial news giant reports that Jobs is unveiling a brand new, thin Mac. The sub-notebook will apparently cost more than a MacBook Pro, and will do ten times less. Now that’s good pricing structure. Bloomberg also reports that Apple will be putting out a 16 GB version of the iPhone, with 3G to come later. However, there is no mention of an SDK. The 16 GB model will retain the current $399 price.

Venturing into the media category, Apple will release a new, updated Apple TV, despite that most believe Jobs is tossing it into his fireplace o’ products. iTunes will get movie rentals, with more movies and TV shows added as well.

Via [Bloomberg]

After a meeting with key component suppliers and manufacturers in Asia this week, investment bank Goldman Sachs researchers said they believe Apple will introduce two revisions to the iPhone in 2008—one minor, one major—and an Apple TV revision (the long awaited Apple TV 2.0) during the second half of the year.

On Tuesday, researcher David Bailey advised clients that “Apple has several important new products lined up for 2008,” though none will be as big or important as the introduction of the company’s iPhone last June.

The analyst said that one of them is the second generation iPhone, currently in it’s “final design phase.” The handset is expected to “have a similar form factor as the current version although it could have a different look and will probably include 3G capability.”

Bailey estimates that the next-gen iPhone will launch sometime during the second half of the year, but also believes the company will tie over consumers with “a smaller upgrade with more flash memory earlier in the year.” Most likely an addition of a 16 GB iPhone will be unleashed. Perhaps the second generation iPhone will sport 16 and 32 GB versions?

Bailey’s Asian contacts advise him that “Apple will be making changes to Apple TV” sometime in the second half of “which could include an LCD display.”

“Apple will refresh its entire Mac line-up throughout 2008, but information about the potential launch of a subnotebook was scarce, with one supplier saying that the product may be pushed out, citing possible design issues,” he added.

Regarding the iPods, “Both the iPod Touch and nano are seeing strength while iPod shuffle demand seems stable, which should cause blended average selling prices (ASPs) to come in above our $150 estimate.”

Goldman Sachs maintains a Buy rating on Apple shares with a 12-month price target of $205 per share.

Via [AppleInsider]

Only two days after the highly anticipated USB patch for the Apple TV was released, AppleTV Hacks is calling on volunteers to help clean the code up. Now that the code is out in the open, they are calling on people to help add more features and make it easier to use.

As they said, when they released the patch Friday night, it was pretty restrictive. It required you have have an Intel Mac or Intel-*nix box, an Apple TV running software version 1.0 with ssh enabled among other things. Their highest priority, according to them on their site, is to make the patch work with Apple TV software version 1.1, which added YouTube support, among others. They would also like to expand the hacking to other platforms, namely PPC OS X computers and Windows as well so everybody will have a chance to join in on the fun. Their last request: a convenient, easy-to-use GUI program to make it much easier for less-savvy hackers.

If you’d like to help them, you can download their source here and if you have some coding skills, can decipher and modify the code to help them achieve their goals.

Via [AppleTV Hacks]

At the fifth D: All Things Digital event, Steve Jobs revealed a software upgrade to the Apple TV that would allow customers to access YouTube’s thousands of clips through a wireless internet collection. You would not access the clips directly from YouTube, instead a team would host the videos in an Apple TV format, available for anyone to view. Users will be able to log in to their YouTube accounts, add favorites and use other features of the popular video-sharing site.

The video quality will be exactly the same as the ones on YouTube’s site which means the videos through an HDTV will be similar as to on your computer. There is a quality issue when watching very low quality content on a TV or display with a high resolution. Though, as Steve mentioned, people are finding ways to upload better content everyday. The update will be available in mid-June with only selected clips (i.e. Featured videos), with the whole YouTube library being available in the fall.

[Apple TV]