02/13, 2:15pm
Samsung thinks UI no factor in facing Apple TV set
Samsung's AV product lead Chris Moseley in an interview Monday was dismissive of the threat posed by a possible Apple TV set. In the chat with Pocket-lint, he insisted that image quality was the primary factor and that Apple wouldn't have the image scaling or "world-renowned" picture quality. He downplayed the interface and software features, normally the highlight of Apple's devices, as backseat elements.
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02/12, 1:25pm
Apple TV update may join iPad 3 on stage
An upgraded Apple TV media hub might come sooner than thought after signs emerged that multiple stores ran low on stock. Amazon, Best Buy, Buy.com, Radio Shack, and Target all show the device either as out of stock or taking weeks to ship. Apple and others do have supply, but it follows a pattern of third-party resellers usually running out first.
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02/09, 12:25pm
SmartData claims Apple violates modular PC idea
Apple is facing a rare instance of foreign patent trolling this week after a discovery that Swiss firm SmartData has sued it over a lone patent. The accusation, quietly filed earlier in the week in Apple's home court district in San Jose, alleged that the Apple TV, the iPhone, and the iOS Remote app violated a patent for a "modular computer." Using Remote on the iPhone to control content on the Apple TV copied the technology, the plaintiff argued.
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02/08, 9:30am
Apple continues evolving use of iTunes
Pop musician Paul McCartney will host a live, streaming concert through iTunes on February 9th at 7PM Pacific time, according to an announcement. The event is being hosted at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, and is meant to promote Kisses on the Bottom, a new McCartney album released on Tuesday. Backing him live will be Tommy LiPuma, as well as Diana Krall and her band, all of which contributed to the record.
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02/06, 10:35pm
Tentative claim has Apple TV set tested in Canada
Unusual rumors on Monday had Apple negotiating for fabled TV set with Canadian telecom providers Bell and Rogers. The respective satellite and cable TV providers were said by the Globe and Mail to be Apple targets as they had "wireless and broadband capabilities" that could be used for launch partners. The two allegedly even had prototypes in their labs.
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02/06, 11:05am
Mentions iOS, apps, iCloud, webcam
A new Best Buy customer survey is asking for feedback on a potential "Apple HDTV," says The Verge. Mockup promotional text touts that "Apple finally reinvents what a TV can do," and describes the display as a 42-inch, 1080p LED model, running the same version of iOS used in the current Apple TV set-top. Like the set-top, the TV could be controlled via an iPad or iPhone, fetch content from iCloud, and access services like Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr.
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02/03, 9:15pm
Movie, TV suggestions added in silent upgrade
Apple has quietly added its "Genius" suggestion technology to Apple TVs, offering recommendations on other shows viewers might enjoy based on their past rentals or purchases. The option is selected via a new menu item that can be chosen by users. The new feature was added to most connected current-generation Apple TV units silently overnight, and mirrors a similar feature that has been a part of the iTunes application for years.
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02/03, 1:35pm
Info stems from meeting with Apple execs
Apple is likely uninterested in building a MacBook Air with an ARM-based processor, says Citigroup's Richard Gardner. The analyst met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer at the company's Cupertino campus on Thursday, when among other things Cook repeated a view that iOS expansion will eventually result in tablets outselling conventional PCs. "We have wondered whether Apple might offer an ARM-based version of the MacBook Air at some point; we walked away from this meeting with the impression that Apple feels iPad satisfies -- or will soon satisfy -- the needs of those who might have been interested in such a product," writes Gardner in a new memo.
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02/02, 10:55pm
Apple TV set may miss Q2 without Sharp displays
Speculation that Apple might ship its own TV set as soon as the spring was cast into doubt by an unusual counter-rumor late Thursday. Supposed industry contacts told Digitimes that there weren't any signs Sharp was ready to ship the IGZO displays many believe Apple would be using for the device. Yields of workable displays were also considered a possible problem.
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02/01, 1:35pm
Terms for program guide technology might change
An Apple TV set could require Apple to pay a higher amount of royalties to Rovi, says Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson. Rovi owns patents to related to interactive program guide technology, for which Apple is paying an annual license fee. The two companies signed a contract in September 2010.
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01/31, 12:50pm
Hulu CEO careful not to commit to or deny Apple TV
Hulu chief Jason Kilar used careful language in an interview at the D: Dive Into Media conference when discussing major content deals. He wouldn't confirm or deny any talks to bring Hulu Plus to the Apple TV. The executive was aware it was a potentially loaded question and denied it twice when pressed.
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01/27, 5:20pm
Current topics from the forums
Today in the MacNN forums Grizzled Veteran sdilley14 asks other members for good reasons to purchase an Apple TV since they already have a PS3 and a XBox 360. One Posting Junkie has had a "troubling amount of pageouts in Snow Leopard" and has turned to the forums for some guidance.
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01/26, 9:55am
Would remove 'clutter' from regular remotes
A newly-published patent application, originally submitted in September, hints at some of what Apple might have planned for its rumored TV set. The filing is titled Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control, and complains that most remotes need a sea of buttons to control all functions. "The controls that are not normally used clutter the remote control and can cause confusion to the user when trying to locate a seldom-used feature," Apple writes.
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01/25, 5:10pm
Trouble widespread, but inconsistent
A number of Apple TV owners are finding it impossible to view YouTube videos, according to complaints on Apple's support forums. Affected people will see an error message: "No content was found. There is a problem communicating with YouTube. Try again later." The issue appears to be affecting countries worldwide, including Argentina, Australia, Japan, Canada, the US, the UK, and at least parts of continental Europe such as Spain and Denmark.
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01/24, 7:20pm
Over 2.8M in 2011 sales falls short of predictions
The latest generation of Apple TV also received a bump during Apple's record holiday season, selling as many units in the last three months of 2011 as it had in the nine months prior, for a total of "just over" 2.8 million units total in 2011, less than the million units per quarter predicted by some analysts but still making it the most popular device of its type, its main competition being the standalone Google TV units as sold by Samsung and Logitech.
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01/13, 11:40am
LG and Google may make reference Google TV device
A pair of sources claimed Friday that Google was partnering with LG to develop a refernece Google TV set. Much like the Galaxy Nexus or the Nexus One before it, the display outlined to Bloomberg would run the latest version of the Android-based interface, possibly before anyone else, and would go without any customizations. The set would be running the next major version, which Google has already said should arrive before the end of the year.
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01/13, 9:35am
Newton was '15 years too early'
In a new interview with the BBC, one-time Apple CEO John Sculley gives fresh commentary on several Apple-related topics, among them the prospect of an Apple-made TV set. "I think that Apple has revolutionized every other consumer industry, why not television? I think that televisions are unnecessarily complex," he says. "The irony is that as the pictures get better and the choice of content gets broader, that the complexity of the experience of using the television gets more and more complicated. So it seems exactly the sort of problem that if anyone is going to change the experience of what the first principles are, it is going to be Apple."
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01/12, 2:55pm
Samsung Australia denies Apple TV set a threat
The late Steve Jobs' claims that he had "cracked" the TV strategy didn't represent anything new, Samsung's Australian audiovisual director Philip Newton claimed in an interview Thursday. The division leader unusually interpreted Jobs' statements for the Sydney Morning Herald as having referred to "connectivity," not really interface, and so wasn't new. He also equated having a feature at all with having beaten Apple to it, contending that the Samsung 2012 TV lineup was as good because it already had voice and touch.
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01/10, 11:30am
Vizio details 2012 TV and Stream Player roadmap
Vizio on Tuesday expanded its entire TV-focused strategy for 2012 by starting with its own equivalent to an Apple TV. The VAP430 Stream Player is dedicated solely to bringing Google TV 2.0 to sets that don't already have it. It links to the TV through HDMI, with a pass-through for other devices, and can share media on the local network through Wi-Fi and DLNA.
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01/10, 3:45am
We test Sony's 2012 Google TV hardware
Sony at CES unveiled new Google TV hardware that we had the opportunity to try. The hardware itself, a new NSZ-GS7 Network Player and a NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player, isn't a revolution but is subtler and fits well into a home theater. The more distinctive feature for us is the remote: while Sony wouldn't let users touch the early prototypes, which we'll go into depth for along with launch details and pricing.
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01/08, 11:45pm
Lenovo avoids Google TV with K91 set
Lenovo as part of its wide-scale introductions brought out its first TV with an unusual approach to Android that we saw for ourselves. The K91 Smart TV is based on Android 4.0, not Google TV, and uses a completely new Sandwich UI that focuses on traditional TV, VOD with a viewing history, and Internet-aware apps.
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01/05, 5:50pm
Google TV partners at CES 2012 already revealed
Google has removed the mystery from who its Google TV partners will be at CES with a full listing ahead of the show. Some using chips from Marvell and MediaTek, TVs from LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio will all run the Android-based TV OS. Vizio's sets will be behind closed doors, but the rest should be public.
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01/05, 9:50am
Google TV goes to ARM to lower prices
Google and Marvell together confirmed a plan to move Google TV to ARM on Thursday with a new platform launch. Marvell's Foresight platform, led by the Armada 1500 HD full system on a chip, will handle all the processing for 2D and 3D video, audio, and general tasks. Its dual-core design is fast enough to handle Flash and HD, and has power levels likened more closely to a cellphone than a set-top box.
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01/04, 12:25pm
May dispel rumors of smaller sets
Apple is working on a TV set measuring 42 inches "or larger," according to a USA Today source. The person is said to have worked at Apple, and claims that the unit is an LCD with built-in Wi-Fi. Jonathan Ive -- the company's senior VP of industrial design -- is moreover said to have a 50-inch TV sitting in his design studio.
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01/04, 2:05am
May be content for Euro version of set-top boxes
Apple is said to be interested in joining the bidding for TV rights for the next set of Premier League UK football games, reports the British newspaper The Daily Mail. The company may be looking for exclusive content to add as an enticement to its Apple TV set-top box, similar to the way the company now offers free Wall Street Journal video to the US and Canadian versions.
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01/02, 7:00pm
Using iPad apps at 720p, more possibilities
Using a scratch-written replacement for the normal iOS launcher known as "Springboard," developers Steve Troughton-Smith and a Canadian colleague known as TheMudKip have moved forward from their discovery that iOS apps can be run inside Apple TV's version of iOS and have now gotten full-screen iPad applications (that are normally landscape in orientation) to work at full 720p resolution. The find opens the door to eventual native Apple TV iOS apps.
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12/31, 11:50pm
Apple TV iOS trick now using multiple app windows
The Apple TV iOS app hack has been improved in the last hours of 2011 after updates by Steve Troughton-Smith and Canadian developer TheMudkip. Along with help of a launcher from Grant Paul, the team has managed to get full-sized iPad apps running on the TV. Apps can run windowed or at full screen, and proofs of concept have been used with Angry Birds, Cydia, Facebook, Safari, and YouTube.
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12/30, 9:45pm
Adds abilities but can cause issues, void warranty
[Updated: video of Troughton-Smith demonstrating Mudkip's iOS window manager and apps on Apple TV] The untethered jailbreak for some iOS 5.0.1 devices has migrated into Seas0npass, a tool for jailbreaking the black (current model) Apple TV, resulting in the option of extra abilities on the $99 device, including the potential to run some iOS apps as demonstrated by hacker Steve Troughton-Smith. The updated Seas0npass works even with Apple TV software version 4.4.4, and third-party options give users the ability to play other video formats, implement custom Bluetooth options and more.
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12/29, 3:40pm
Apple-made TV also not expected to show
Contrary to a recent DigiTimes report, Apple is not planning to show off new iPads at Macworld|iWorld, says The Loop's Jim Dalrymple. The writer cites "a number" of his sources, who say that an iPad 3 won't show at Macworld, or even at the Consumer Electronics Show; both events are scheduled for January. The sources also add that Apple's upcoming TV set won't make an appearance.
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12/29, 9:35am
Nintendo Wii U may have full tablet-like apps
Nintendo's Wii U may have a full-fledged app store similar to the iPad or Android by the time it ships, according to a rumor early on Thursday. The portal as portrayed by The Daily would give non-gaming apps such as MLB.tv the option of running on the regular TV interface, but it would also allow for more tablet-like apps that run just on the gamepad's 6.2-inch touchscreen. There would be a "wider variety" of apps than what DSiWare and WiiWare offer now, the source said.
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12/28, 2:10pm
XBMC 11.0 Eden Beta brings AirPlay support, more
XBMC recently rolled out a significant revision of its home theater software, 11.0 Eden Beta 1, for download. Its makers say there are too many improvements to list, but the main ones include speed boosts, add-on update rollbacks, and improvements to the Confluence default skin. iOS users also now get AirPlay support with stable in-sync performance.
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12/28, 10:45am
Set may be finalized by end of Q2 2012
Three more companies could be potential suppliers for the Apple TV set, say DigiTimes sources. These include Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Siliconware Precision Industries, and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Sharp and Samsung were recently reported as producing LCDs and chips, respectively.
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12/27, 7:30am
Full Apple TV set may ship in spring or summer
Apple's proper TV set may enter the earliest production phases early next year. Rumors floated Tuesday by Digitimes had the supply chain for the "iTV" producing individual parts before the end of March. The aim was to ship the TV in spring or summer, the sources said, giving Apple a wide berth.
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12/15, 3:35pm
Roku iOS app provides visual channel browsing
Roku has quickly followed up on its recent set-top box update with the promised matching iPhone app (App Store). Going beyond what Apple's equivalent Remote app does for the Apple TV, it supports both a one-for-one remote control as well as a truly visual browser. Viewers can flip through the individual channels on the iPhone and get to their ratings without having to look up to the TV.
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12/15, 3:05pm
Changes so far unclear
Apple has released two minor firmware updates for iOS devices. The first is v4.4.4 for the Apple TV, which implements unspecified bugfixes. The update can be installed automatically via an Apple TV's normal update functions, or manually by technically savvy users with access to the IPSW file.
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12/13, 1:15pm
Made possible by iTunes Store expansion
Brazilians can now finally buy the Apple TV, checks show. Locally the set-top costs R$399, or just under $218 US. While the main sources of content are iTunes and iCloud, users can also watch video from Vimeo and YouTube, or push media to a TV from an AirPlay-capable iOS handheld.
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12/12, 3:10pm
Apple poised to dominate smart TVs, says analyst
The Apple TV is on track take 32 percent of the Internet-ready TV set-top market in 2011, claims research firm Strategy Analytics. Both Apple and Roku set-tops are said to be doing well as a result of their makers lowering prices. Globally, the market for such devices is forecast to reach just under 12 million units by the end of the year.
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12/12, 2:20pm
iOS 5.1 beta 2 hits dev center
Apple on Mondahy posted iOS 5.1 beta 2 to the Developer Center. Along with cleaning up the release, 5.1 now gives an option of deleting photos from the Photo Stream and seeing those changes propagate elsewhere. Photos have to have been taken with an iOS 5.1 device, however, and they will only automatically vanish on other iOS 5.1 hardware.
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12/08, 9:45am
Full list of countries may be unknown
The changes to Apple TV content made in Canada are also in effect in Australia in the UK, reports note. Residents of the two regions can now access TV shows through iCloud, rather than having to stream them from a computer running iTunes, or an iOS handheld. Pricing for episodes should remain unchanged.
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12/08, 12:20am
Streamed from iCloud, replaces rentals
A silent upgrade has allowed Apple TV units in Canada to allow TV show purchases, using iCloud streaming to store the purchased episode and stream them to other Apple devices. While it was possible to purchase TV shows via iTunes in Canada before, the update makes it possible for Apple TVs to purchase directly, 9to5 Mac reports. TV episodes cost up to $2.50 in standard definition and up to $3.50 in HD.
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12/07, 11:25pm
Schmidt hints Google TV may be pushed by volume
Google chairman Eric Schmidt made an aggressive prediction at the Le Web conference in Paris (video below) that Google TV would dictate the TV landscape by summer 2012. He believed that the "majority of televisions you see in stores" should have the Android-based OS build inside over the course of the next several months. No indication was given of which companies were involved and how many of their models would make the leap.
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12/05, 1:45am
We try Xbox 360 fall 2011 dashboard early
Microsoft is about to launch its Xbox 360 fall Dashboard update, and we've had the opportunity to use it early on our own system ahead of when it goes live December 6. The update is Microsoft's second major revamp in the Xbox 360's history and is geared around turning the Xbox 360 into a media hub. Read on for hands-on time and why it may be the definitive answer to the Apple TV.
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11/29, 9:35pm
TV expected in the first quarter of next year
Lenovo is reportedly preparing to launch a 'smart' television, which will be designed to work in conjunction with smartphones, tablets and computers. The company has yet to disclose full details, though the new TVs are said to take advantage of Internet connections and capable of sharing content between the company's range of devices.
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11/28, 11:25pm
iOS 5.1 gives away new Apple TV name
A recently discovered third-generation Apple TV has reemerged in the wake of the iOS 5.1 beta. New hunts in the file system by iH8Snow for 9to5 have seen it get the codename J33, in step with the iPad 3's J-series naming. Apple had been using K codenames even up to the iPad 2's K95.
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11/23, 4:05pm
Google TV update adds key YouTube, photo extras
Google's recent Google TV revamp got its first significant OS update on Wednesday with the addition of some heavily requested extras. YouTube on the TV interface now catches up to Apple TV with support for both playlists and subscriptions. Common playlists like Favorites and Watch Later carry over at the same time.
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11/23, 12:45pm
New iPhones, iPads could use Sharp IGZO screens
(Updated with info on Apple investment in Sharp) Apple is forecast to begin commercial production of a TV set in February, at a Sharp plant in Japan, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. In particular Apple is said to be partnering with Sharp for LCDs, and starting production at the latter company's Gen 10 Sakai plant in Osaka. The TV is said to be in position for a mid-2012 launch.
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11/21, 10:55pm
Samsung hints Google TV at CES next year
Samsung's long-promised Google TV hardware might make an appearance early next year. TV division head Yoon Boo-keun told Reuters Monday night that the Korean company was in "last-stage" discussions to bring out its own Google TV hardware. It would "differ from those of competitors," he said, although how wasn't mentioned.
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11/18, 2:40pm
Info left out of Isaacson biography
Before his death, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs wanted to revolutionize three more fields of technology, biographer Walter Isaacson tells the New York Times. The author says he deliberately avoided going into detail about future Apple products in his book because he felt it wasn't fair to the company. In particular, Jobs is said to have been interested in photography, textbooks, and TV.
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11/17, 2:05pm
Content of update unclear
Apple has released a minor update for the second-generation Apple TV, v4.4.3. The firmware is listed as build 9A4051, but no other details are mentioned, even during installation. It is therefore likely to be a simple maintenance update, as no new features have been spotted.
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11/16, 7:00pm
Plays additional formats, other features
Hacker group FireCore have released a final version aTV Flash (black), designed specifically for the 2nd-generation black Apple TV units. While it requires users to "jailbreak" their Apple TV unit, the unofficial software adds additional media formats, an extended menu system, web surfing, Last.fm support and other features and can access files directly from a Mac, PC or network drive without using iTunes.
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