I was watching the Apple launch event the other day and I must say I was a bit disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong the device is small and slick and the 99$ puts it in the right price range to compete with other streamers in the market. 
The problem is, that besides connecting to iTunes, the Apple TV its not much different than the rest of the bunch.
Apple isn’t taking advantage of its platform strengths the same way its doing with its other devices…

Why isn’t the Apple TV Social?

Apple just launched its own social network – Ping. Why isn’t Ping data featured on the Apple TV?
I’d like see what my friends watched, get recommendations and share stuff I Like.

Where are the Apps?!

The iPhone, iPod and iPad are thriving on a vibrant Apps market. Why can’t the Apple TV do the same?
I was really expecting an iOS driven device where developers could enhance the Apple TV capabilities by providing apps specifically designed to be run on TV set with limited controls.

You could browse social networks (Facebook, Twitter etc.), or watch stock market information, or browse content from your favorite feeds and content providers (imagine something like the iPad’s Flipboard your big LCD TV), or cook with your TV’s help (imagine Jamie Oliver’s iPhone app on the big screen) or get apps from content providers (like local news channels for example) that’ll be able to stream their own content…
There’s tons of stuff developers could do with the Apple TV if given the option.

Apple could have really taken the streamers to a whole new level with this…

In short, I wish Apple TV would be more like Boxee

Tags: AAPL, Apple, AppleTV

Apple’s shares have been declining by more than 10% for the past two days – ever since the Macworld 2008 keynotes.
Apparently, Steve’s reality distortion field didn’t work out so well this year the market is clearly somewhat disappointed with the latest announcements.

While part of the reason for the decline has to do with market issues – NASDAQ down, disappointing outlook for Intel which is Apple’s exclusive CPU supplier – there’s a general disappointment regarding the Macworld announcements.
People were expecting ‘something’ at Macworld – a new revolutionary product like last years iPhone, new unexpected products – but most of the announcement were predicted in advance and there was nothing that could really be disruptive like last year’s iPhone.

However, I do think that Apple made some very promising new announcements: Apple TV and iTunes movie rentals were the real Macworld 2008 stars.

Behind all the “wow” effect announcement you might have missed the item about Apple TV getting an upgrade.
Apple TV will now be able to download movies, music, TV shows and podcast directly over the internet without requiring another PC (or Mac).
This is a huge paradigm shift that upgrades the Apple TV from a “remote UI for your PC\Mac iTunes” to a media center device capable of standing up on its own.
The best news were that the product price dropped from $300 to $230 and existing devices can get a free update.

It might not seem so at the moment, but I think that the announcement on the iTunes Movie Rentals service, coupled with the AppleTV upgrade, will be a disruption landmark just like the iTunes music store was back in 2003 – The beginning of a commercial shift to online video from traditional DVDs.
In fact, I think that videos will be a major help to driver people to Apple’s platform (iTunes, iPod, iPhone, Mac, AppleTV) in the future.

That being said, In think the recent plunge its shares price is unjustifiable and I’m seriously considering putting my money on it and getting some Apple shares.

Tags: AAPL, Apple, AppleTV, iTunes video rentals, ITunesVideoRentals, Macbook Air, MacbookAir, Macworld keynote, MacworldKeynote, Steve Jobs, SteveJobs