Apps for Apple TV: sign me up

Saul Hansell, over at the New York Times Bits blog, takes Microsoft's recent announcement about Xbox LIVE Community Games as a jumping off point to some speculation about Apple TV (and who doesn't like speculation?). Hansell wonders what would happen if Apple were to open up an App Store for the Apple TV, and I have to admit that I think that's a brilliant idea.I've always thought that the Apple TV would greatly benefit from third party plugins (official ones, I mean, not hacks), if not full blown apps. Take, for example, the YouTube functionality. Wouldn't it be cool if you could watch videos from Viddler, Vimeo, or any of the other countless video sharing sites, in addition to those on YouTube? And let's not forget Netflix. Microsoft and Netflix have teamed up to offer the 'Watch it now' library of videos to XBox Live Gold members. Being able to watch those videos from Netflix on my Apple TV would make me one happy panda.Hansell notes that to make apps on the Apple TV viable something has to be done about that horrible onscreen keyboard. He thinks that Apple might tie the iPhone into the Apple TV as a way to control it. Luckily, Apple has already done this. As John Gruber points out, when you have Apple's Remote app on your iPhone you are able to use the iPhone to enter text into your Apple TV.Let's hope Apple stops thinking about Apple TV as a hobby and starts making an aggressive push for the living room. I like my Apple TV, but my XBox 360 offers up more functionality (and more heat!).Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Opinion: Apple TV as a TiVo-killer

If Apple wants its “hobby” product line to take off like the iPod, it has to acknowledge the hole in the Apple TV’s functionality and create a real DVR.

Review: Netflix Player vs Apple TV

Roku's new dedicated box for streaming content from Netflix's Watch Instantly service offers a fairly large but somewhat eclectic variety of decent quality movies and TV programs at a very reasonable price, particularly for existing Netflix subscribe...

Use iPhone/iPod touch as an Apple TV keyboard

One of the most annoying things about the Apple TV is using its on-screen keyboard -- for instance, when entering WiFi information, usernames, or searching for YouTube videos. The process of moving character-by-character and row-by-row is slow and tedious. If you've got an iPhone or iPod touch and Apple's free Remote application, however, you're holding the solution to this problem in your hand: just fire up Remote any time you see a keyboard input screen on your Apple TV, and the keyboard will appear on your iPhone (or iPod touch).While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this one feature justifies the cost of an iPhone or iPod touch, if you use your Apple TV a lot, it is an amazing timesaver to be able to use a "real" (real virtual?) keyboard instead of the Apple TV's onscreen version.I first heard about this from an anonymous Macworld reader via email, as well as in ...

Rumor: Apple TV’s wireless, multi-touch keyboard

Who doesn’t like reading rumors on the weekend? I know for me, it’s right up their with reading the Family Circus each Sunday morning. Faithful Macenstein reader Doug writes us with news of an upcoming Apple TV update and the first Apple TV-specific accessory, a multi-touch Apple keyboard: “a new keyboard. bluetooth. aluminum with design and [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Rumor: Apple TV’s wireless, multi-touch keyboard", url: "http://macenstein.com/default/archives/1364" });

Apple TV 2.1 walkthrough

Today Apple released the 2.1 update for the Apple TV. The main new features of this update are MobileMe and support for Remote.app (Apple's Remote application for iPhone/iPod touch users). Telling readers what the update did is one thing, but showing is a completely different story, that's why we went the extra mile to bring you a walkthrough of the new features in the 2.1 update. So check out our gallery of Apple TV 2.1 screenshots.Gallery: Apple TV 2.1 updatePermalink | Email this | Comments