Sam Oliver
The price drop places the 160GB offering at the cost previously represented by the now-defunct 40GB Apple TV. Currently, the 160GB model is the only version of the hardware available.
Weeks ago, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted that the 40GB Apple TV had a wait time for those looking to purchase, something that had never been seen before. That lead Munster to believe that Apple could discontinue the model and drop the price of the 160GB hardware — a prediction that proved to be correct.
Munster also believes that a major upgrade to the Apple TV is planned at some point in the future, and that hardware would be based around a new iTunes subscription service. However, he does not expect the new hardware to appear soon, because negotiations with the content providers must take place first — likely a process that will take some time.
The analyst has said he believes a new Apple TV would increase video purchases if a subscription model were to be offered. He believes the popularity of Hulu and Netflix Instant Watch are evidence of this.
"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 or $40 per month)," Munster said. "Such a product would effectively replace a consumer's monthly cable bill (~$85/month) and offer access to current and older episodes of select shows on select channels."
In addition to subscriptions, Munster has predicted that a new Apple TV would also potentially include DVR capabilities. The analyst also believes that in the long-term vision for Apple is a full-fledged Apple television set with built-in media syncing capabilities. He expects such a device to appear in the next two to five years.
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93 Comments
It seems, for the time being, updates will continue to be software only. Good news for me with a first generation ATV. It would now be a good time for Apple to allow that USB to be used for extra storage ...
I too think it's good that Apple hasn't updated yet the ATV, to be honest, these days electronic "gadgets" get updated too frequently. Buy one product today and in 6 months it's obsolete. Ok, sure, it has it's good and bad sides. But i hope that Apple will continue releasing SW updates for the ATV! It's a really cool product with a lot of potential, not bad for a first try i have to say.
Apple this weekend discounted the 40GB Apple TV and discounted the higher capacity model of its living room media player to $229.
Do you mean discontinued and discounted?
As an owner of an Apple TV (160gb, but the HD is always empty) I'd love to see it developed further, as it really feels like a half baked product. It desperately needs access to streaming video sites, such as the BBC's iPlayer here in the UK and all the others too of course.
More than that though Apple just need to get off their backsides and give a damn about the iTunes store outside the UK. The disparity in content between the US store and what we poor slobs in the rest of the world get is shocking. The US store feels like an HD paradise compared to the largely SD world of the UK store, and of course we get new shows and films are around double the cost and months, or YEARS late. It's just not a very compelling offering.
Maybe next AppleTV would double as a game console? one can only hope
As an owner of an Apple TV (160gb, but the HD is always empty) I'd love to see it developed further, as it really feels like a half baked product. It desperately needs access to streaming video sites, such as the BBC's iPlayer here in the UK and all the others too of course.
More than that though Apple just need to get off their backsides and give a damn about the iTunes store outside the UK. The disparity in content between the US store and what we poor slobs in the rest of the world get is shocking. The US store feels like an HD paradise compared to the largely SD world of the UK store, and of course we get new shows and films are around double the cost and months, or YEARS late. It's just not a very compelling offering.
Indeed. Apple needs to provide more content globally, how else do they expect the Apple TV to make a dent?