“With everyone focused on the incredibly expensive acquisition of YouTube by Google, attention once again drifted away from the Apple connection to Google and what may be the big long term plan jointly being executed by both companies,” Rob Enderle writes for Digital Trends. “Microsoft’s Media Center and Intel’s Viiv initiative have fallen way short of expectations and neither Tivo nor 3rd party PVR’s have successfully filled the gap either.”
The door is currently “open to someone that can connect the dots between on-line rich content and the living room experience we seem to want, but are currently not getting,” Enderle writes. “Apple has the upcoming iTV and a demonstrated capability of making the overall user experience vastly better than we have now. The iPod not only demonstrated that Apple understands what the market wants but that, even after Apple demonstrated the solution, that most competitors still don’t get what makes the iPod a success. But Apple really doesn’t, by itself, have a good delivery or video file management system for the content already on the web. With YouTube, they get content and content management, and with Google they get access to the massive amount of dark fiber (high speed data lines that Google has purchased but which currently are not being used).”
“The resulting power of the combined entities could be enough to open up the other movie studios and accelerate the movements of the networks to provide their content libraries over this new service. Cable and DSL suppliers should not only be worried but Cisco and Microsoft as well because, should this be successful, Cisco and Microsoft’s efforts could be rendered obsolete,” Endlere writes.
A possible Apple-Google merger that “would allow Steve Jobs to finally follow Bill Gates and Scott McNealy into a more formal semi-retirement” in the full article here.
When Enderle leaves out his usual forced pro-Microsoft / anti-Apple comments, he makes for much more interesting reading. While we don’t foresee a merger or any evidence that Jobs is looking forward to retirement, it would be very interesting to see what two powerful allies such as Apple and Google could conjure up together.
Related articles:
Enderle: ‘4th quarter will be Apple’s hardest since the first iPod Christmas’ – September 18, 2006
Enderle: Microsoft Zune ‘a design mistake’ – September 15, 2006
Enderle: Anticipating an Apple-Google Merger – September 05, 2006
Enderle details his idea of ‘Apple’s Leopard Strategy’ – August 14, 2006
Enderle: Microsoft’s ‘iPod killer’ Zune is ‘brilliant strategy’ – July 24, 2006
Enderle on what it would take for Microsoft to kill Apple’s iPod – July 10, 2006
Enderle spouts some incredible nonsense about Apple iPod+iTunes – July 07, 2006
Enderle: If Apple can’t double market share it will abandon Macs – May 02, 2006
Enderle: Apple as Windows OEM – April 10, 2006
Enderle: Apple’s Boot Camp allowing Windows on Mac ‘could change PC landscape as we know it’ – April 06, 2006
Well this seems to reflect the connection I made a few days ago on another forum. I think the significance here may be far more skewed towards mobile media devices than living room (at least initially) though. Youtube material is ideal as mobile content, less so for big screen as things stand. In 6 months to a year we will start to gather the real significance of these moves.
I’ll disagree with the anti-convergence crowd here. I used to be among your number, for a number of reasons. I also used to think that Steve Jobs didn’t think much of convergence because if his statement that he “didn’t think people want a PC in their living room.”
However, due a number of factors, I’ve changed my mind about convergence.
1) Although a couple of years ago, sales of Media Center PCs only number a couple of hundred thousand or so, the most recent figures I’ve seen show that sales have entered the millions. If you go into a Costco (and Sam’s Clubs, too, I believe), Media Center models are the only PCs they carry.
2) Also, I think there is at least one other factor (among who knows how many others?) that is relatively unknown and driving a social acceptance of convergence and the use of PCs in the living room, even among the technically unsophisticated.
Comfort.
The comfort factor was brought to my attention a few weeks ago when I had to replace my HD over-the-air-antenna due to storm damage. The installer (who is also my satellite guy) and I were discussing the state of home theater setups, and he mentioned that the biggest things he has been busy with is setting up home theater setups with PCs. He said his clients experiences were pretty unanimous. Once they had surfed, emailed and done many other mundane computing tasks from the comfort of sitting in an easy chair or a recliner, there was no way they were going back to sitting at a desk in an office chair.
3) I now think that Jobs wasn’t dismissing convergence, per se, but simply stating that he thinks people don’t want a PC in their living room. But accessing a computer is a different matter. Hence the iTV. Although all we saw was simple playback of certain particular features, I will be surprised if iTV doesn’t furnish access to your PC.
If it doesn’t, I think Apple will have really missed the boat.
Goople. Gapple. Apoogle.
All sound Scrumpdillicious to me. Now… pass me some of that scrapple… Gravy too, now. Don’t be shy! Ummm… I can feel my arteries hardening!
Oh, yeah. Enderle’s an idiot.
Ray Lane:
Agreed. As long as SJ’s health remains “robust”, I don’t see him going anywhere anytime soon.
@ leodavinci: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here.
I’d only add that I don’t think that the whole PC computing experience has to transfer to the living room, but those major capabilities that a media center-type PC provides. Basic web browsing, email checking, IMing, and from there a fully integrated digital media suite. I also feel strongly that a DVR capability, at least for over the air HD & SD content should be incorporated.
The rest of the ‘real’ work related stuff could be available for those couch potatos who can stand having their work everywhere, but maybe just beneath a Front Row kind of interface.
Frankly, this is something Apple should have gotten into long before now.
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Am I the only one who sees Googles YouTube takeover has everything to do with preventing YouTube falling in the hands of Microsoft.
This way the first round of ‘The War for The Livingroom’ will be played without major competition…
Now the road is clear for Google and Apple teaming up presenting their video content to computer AND TV screens: Apple selling hardware and movies and Google’s ‘video-on-demand’ will be seen via Apple’s Videostore, Frontrow and the new ibox…
Farewell TV (as we know it), goodbye Microsoft….
Your ads are getting annoying
Especially the ones that hijack your cursor.
Please have some minimum standards
I am not going to Hit the target to get a FREE video iPod!
Good Bye