“The obvious bets [for Apple’s “It’s Showtime” special media event this Tuesday] have been an iPod-enabled cell phone, and what I suspect is a gimmie: the already well discussed larger screened iPod combo with iTunes Movie Store download,” The Big Picture writes.
“Let’s fantasize a bit about what might be more intriguing options: Looking at their iMac line up, the 24 inch model with Front Row software got me thinking: Sure, that’s fine for a dorm room, but what about the rest of the TV consuming country? They want bigger and bigger screens,” The Big Picture writes.
“Here’s what I want: make me a 40″ version of an iMac. Bring this in so it only costs marginally more than other flat screens — figure $3500. (Eventually, roll out a 50 or even a 60-inch version for $4500 – $6000 clams),” The Big Picture writes. “Build in all of the Front Row software controls into a full function remote control — TV, DVD, music, etc. Then (just for laughs), build in a DVR or TiVo for that matter.”
The Big Picture writes, “Apple would have a break out hit, and take total control of the digital living room like no one else has been able to.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Crave at CNET: Apple’s gorgeous 24-inch iMac should tempt you to switch – September 07, 2006
Mossberg: Apple makes ‘best desktop computer on the market’ iMac even more attractive – September 07, 2006
Apple iMac line gets 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo processors; pricing starts at $999; new 24-inch model – September 06, 2006
Digital Trends Review: Apple iMac 17-inch Core Duo ‘silent, beautiful, very fast and reliable’ – July 12, 2006
Seattle Times: Apple iMac is ‘so beautiful with its simple, yet elegant design’ – July 08, 2006
Wired names best media center: Apple 20-inch iMac with Front Row – June 08, 2006
Review: Apple’s new iMac Core Duo ‘an outstanding feat of engineering, a high-precision instrument’ – February 16, 2006
Apple iMac the finest, most reliable, stable, elegant and intuitive personal computer available – February 14, 2006
Review: Apple 20-inch iMac Core Duo 2.0GHz – February 06, 2006
BusinessWeek: Apple’s new iMac Core Duo is an iMac on Steroids – February 02, 2006
Thurrott: ‘I highly recommend Apple’s new Intel-based iMac’ – January 31, 2006
Thurrott: ‘Nothing on Windows approaches the quality of Apple’s iLife ’06’ – January 31, 2006
Computerworld: Apple’s MacBook Pro ‘fast, really fast – looks like a real winner’ – January 28, 2006
InfoWorld: Apple perfects the desktop personal computer with new iMac Core Duo – January 25, 2006
PC Magazine review gives Apple iMac Intel Core Duo 4.5 out of 5 stars – January 20, 2006
Mossberg: New Intel-based iMac the best consumer desktop with the best OS and best software bundle – January 18, 2006
Airport Express Showtime!
Not Airport Express Movie.
I don’t see the point. Youall seem to be forgetting the MiniMac. I have a 50 inch plasma with a MiniMac 1.5 Ghz G4 but I have a 1.67Ghz dual core Intel with front row already there. The plasma cost me $2400 including tax (Zenith) My only problem is the MiniMac doesnt support the true 16X9 aspect ratio. I have hooked to this an EyeTV 500 and a 300Gb hard drive. My HD replays are actually the size of a 37inch diag. screen but I can live with it for now. my entire set up cost less than $3500 including a bluetooth wireless keyboard with 2 button mouse that I can use for Windows apps in bootcamp when I install the dual core. Currently I have some stock trading software that only runs on windows. I’m currently beta testing crossover on my Mac Book so maybe I wont need windows at all. So far not a complete success but I’ll keep plugging.
Pretty interesting idea, too bad its not original. That particular rumour originally hit the airwaves about a year or so ago. Part of the new wave of “flood the rumour sites with outrageous inflated products to make what Apple actually releases seem pale by comparison” the FUDsters have started spewing. Kind of a positive FUD if that’s possible.
The Mac mini was updated on Wednesday with no HDMI connectors and no PVR and you all still think another will be introduced this Tuesday? Fat chance.
Airport Express A/V is Apple’s solution, not the mini or a PVR set-top box. Apple wants to make it easy for everyone to buy movies from iTunes, not just Mac users. Airport Express A/V will allow this.
An Airport Express A/V is the right solution. But in order for it to be a big hit, Apple has to sell videos that are of DVD quality. 320×240 won’t work.
And a storage system like the Xserve RAID, but for your home entertainment center would be sweet too. Gotta store those movies somewhere.
Given that Amazon is doing DVD-quality, Apple would be insane not to match at least that.
Jobs has already said people don’t want their computers in the living room. Apple has never said the Mac mini is for the living room or a home entertainment center; they’ve always said it is a low-cost entry for those who already own monitors and keyboards (namely, PC users).
Jobs has said people want to watch movies on a TV in the living room. And iTunes on a computer is the connection to the Internet, which will become the primary path for content delivery, usurping cable/broadcast TV and radio, and packaged DVDs and CDs. (Additionally, for those consumers who want to go beyond just consumption, the Mac and iLife are the solutions for digital content creation.)
Given both these points, the solution looks to be an Airport Express for video.
I think the Mac mini has so far served to confuse competitors regarding Apple’s direction.
Us apartment dwellers mostly have no choice — my iMac is in my living room (which is why I’m glad it looks so gorgeous — beige boxes would clash with my early American IKEA decor). I don’t mind an all-in-one computer, but I’d prefer a separate solution for the TV so I don’t have to go out and spend money on a new TV quite yet…
Reality Check is right – the idea of a 60″ iMac is ludicrous. People buy TVs and use them for the next 10 years. That’s not true of computers.
It makes far more sense for Apple to release Airport Express A/V. Just as the current Express allows you to pipe music wireless to your expensive speakers, the new Airport would have an HDMI port that allows you to pipe HD-quality movies to any large screen that has an HDMI port.
The catch is, you’d need to still have a Mac to control the Express. But it’s about as wise for Apple to get into manufacturing TVs as it would be for it to start making digital cameras again. There are already so many TV makers who spend scads of R&D coming out with ever-better TVs that Apple would have to double its own R&D budget just to keep up.
It doesn’t make sense for Apple to try to compete against companies like Phillips, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony in the TV market because Apple simply doesn’t have the resources. You don’t see Apple competing against Canon, Nikon, Casio, and Olympus in the camera market anymore, either.
The reason being, all these companies spend billions of dollars a year just coming out with new models of cameras and TVs. They all make world-class products. Apple would be ill-served trying to compete with established players in a market where the products are already super-high quality. Sure, Apple could surely come out with a decent TV, but the return-on-investment equation just doesn’t work out because no matter how good the Apple TV is, there will be dozens of models that are just as good or better.
The situation is not the same in the digital music player space, where the competition is clueless, or the PC space, where the competition is clueless. That’s why the Mac and iPod are doing so well these days, if you think about it. Apple would have a much harder time competing in the TV market, just as it came to the same conclusion after killing the QuickTake digital camera line.
This is a good reason for an Apple phone, though, because the competition is still clueless when it comes to phone design.