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55 'Apple TV' stories May 2011 - April 2013
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Amazon reportedly plans to get into the set-top-box game this fall

Avatar for Mark Gurman Apr 24 2013 - 9:41 am PT
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Following in the footsteps of Apple and Google attempts at the set-top-box market, Amazon is planning to release a set-top-box, according to Bloomberg. 

They say the box will plug into TVs and give users access to Amazon’s expanding video offerings. Those include its a la carte Video on Demand store, which features newer films and TV shows, and its Instant Video service, which is free for subscribers to the Amazon Prime two-day shipping package. The Amazon set-top box will compete with similar products like the Roku, Apple TV and the Boxee Cloud DVR, along with more versatile devices like the Playstation 3 and the Xbox. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

The device is reportedly being developed in Amazon’s Cupertino based labs and could launch this fall. The project is reportedly being spearheaded by a former Apple and Cisco employee:

The project is being run by Malachy Moynihan, a former vice president of emerging video products at Cisco (CSCO) who worked on the networking company’s various consumer video initiatives. Moynihan also spent nine years at Apple (AAPL) during the 1980s and 1990s.

Perhaps this future product is the reason that Apple and Amazon have no deal for Amazon content streaming on the Apple TV.


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Google’s No.1 priority for US-made Nexus Q was faster design iterations, not cost

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jul 3 2012 - 7:40 am PT
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Since Google unveiled its Nexus Q streaming device at Google I/O, more and more details have come out about what is essentially a set-top box (albeit orb-shaped) Apple TV competitor with a built-in stereo amplifier. Google was first to make it clear that the device was manufactured entirely in the United States, and a report from The New York Times later confirmed the Q “was being assembled in a large factory 15 minutes from Google headquarters.”

Today, a report from Reuters quoted Google’s Senior Director of Android Global Partnerships John Lagerling explaining that the decision was based on the ability to innovate faster and not necessarily cost:

“We wanted to innovate fast. This is the first end-to-end hardware product that Google has ever put out,” said John Lagerling, Google’s senior director of Android global partnerships.

The cost of building the orb-shaped Nexus Q, a cross between a streaming video box like Apple TV and a stereo amplifier, “was not the No. 1 priority,” Lagerling said. “We wanted to see if we could do fast (design iterations) rather than having our engineers fly across the world.”


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Samsung ‘AllShare Cast’ is Airplay, and ‘ShareCast Dongle’ is AppleTV for Galaxy S III

Avatar for Seth Weintraub May 3 2012 - 12:58 pm PT
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One feature that Samsung shared today at the S II launch event, which possessed more than a passing resemblance to its iOS counterpart, was “AllShare Cast.” It is a way of slinging video around the house. To go with it, Samsung is adding an “AllCast Dongle” to the mix to catch those videos and put them on an HDTV a la Apple TV.

On one hand, it is pretty blatant copying. On the other hand, it is really useful.


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DoubleTwist Player Android app updated with Google Music support

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 28 2012 - 4:57 pm PT
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DoubleTwist player, the app that aims to provide the functionality of the iOS iPod in a single Android app, keeps adding features that take it even beyond the functionality of Apple’s iPods. Today, an update to the app adds several welcomed improvements and fixes, and the most notable is support for Google Music. The blog post noted Google Music offline tracks would now appear in the app’s library.

Also included in v1.7.3 are fixes for the latest Apple TV update and downloading album artwork. As always, the app includes several other improvements and bug fixes, and it can be downloaded for free from Google Play. The devs were also able to reduce the size of the app in the update, which is always nice while receiving new functionality in the process.


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Logitech Revue hits $99

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Jul 31 2011 - 7:29 am PT
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As promised in their latest horrific earnings report, Logitech has lowered the Revue GoogleTV box to just $99.  That’s $200 less than it was yesterday, though sales had it near $150 in the past.  Best Buy has dropped the price as well.  Other retailers have yet to drop their prices, though that is expected to change soon.

Sony is also deeply discounting their GoogleTVs as well, though they haven’t made a formal announcement on the matter.

Google is expected to roll out a Honeycomb update for the Logitech/Sony GoogleTV by the end of summer which will give the device the ability to run apps on the big screen, a simplified interface as well as numerous other optimizations and improvements.  Via 9to5toys.com

Press release follows:
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Google TV stalling as Logitech Revue purchases are dwarfed by returns

Avatar for 9to5 Staff Jul 28 2011 - 10:55 am PT
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It is no secret that Google TV failed to hit the ground running as the notion of having to buy another box for their TVs fell on deaf ear with the general public. It is no surprise then to find out that Google TV boxes are not selling very well, just like the Apple TV (picture below). What we didn’t know is how bad the situation is for the search giant’s pet project. TIMN points at a prepared statement from Logitech, the maker of Google TV-powered Revue box, in which the company acknowledged “very modest sales” of the product in the June quarter:

Sales of Logitech Revue were slightly negative during the quarter, as returns of the product were higher than the very modest sales. We believe the significantly lower everyday price for Logitech Revue, reduced from $249 to $99, will generate improved sales.

Google on its part will update the Google TV project with Honeycomb code later this summer, adding the ability to download and run apps on your television. But despite the aggressive price cut which will cost Logitech $34 million in one-time charges and the fact that the Revue now price-matches the $99 Apple TV, ordinary consumers will still be avoiding set-top boxes in droves, regardless of a brand.

Apple on its part could tackle the market with a rumored full-blown television set with the Apple TV functionality built-in. Apple’s op-chief Tim Cook recently in a conference call with Wall Street analysts re-iterrated Apple’s stance that the Apple TV box remains “a hobby” for the company. The comment jibes with Steve Jobs’s argument from the Wall Street Journal’s D8 conference last year when he said set-top box makers like Apple and Google faced a go-to market problem, calling the television market “balkanized” (full quote and video below the fold).


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Logitech Revue GoogleTV drops to $200 at Amazon

Avatar for Seth Weintraub May 13 2011 - 9:48 am PT
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We’re not going to prognosticate on what a $100 price drop means for the Logitech GoogleTV. We’ve been hearing mighty nice things about the Honeycomb update that is in the works for this summer in fact. But we thought you should know that Amazon has lopped of $100 which makes this Intel-based 1080P machine a pretty good bargain.

Update: Best Buy has matched the $200 price and Sony also offers the Sony BluRay GoogleTV for $260.
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