If you followed Steve Jobs’s keynote address at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco yesterday, you will have noticed that he spent most of the event discussing the new iPhone. This revolutionary device certainly warranted the time he devoted to it, but before getting to the iPhone, Steve Jobs briefly presented another new device: the Apple TV. This device, which was expected since Jobs had already presented it at an earlier event, acts as a wireless bridge between a computer (Mac or PC) and a TV set and stereo. With a 40 GB hard disk, built-in WiFi, and a bevy of connectors on the back, the Apple TV is actually just a sedentary on iPod without a screen.
Why is it like an iPod? The Apple TV contains a hard disk, which synchronizes with content on a Mac or PC via iTunes. The device requires a network connection, which could be the built-in WiFi or an ethernet connection. iTunes recognizes this as a device, just like an iPod, and you’ll be able to select which type of content you want to put on the Apple TV. It will then sync automatically-wirelessly or via ethernet–and your movies, TV shows, photos and music will automatically get loaded on the Apple TV.
Once you have loaded content on the Apple TV, you will be able to view it on your TV set or, if it is music, listen to it on your stereo. Since it doesn’t have a screen of its own, you will need to use your TV screen to navigate its menus and choose what to play (or music). For movies or TV shows, it’s simple: the interface is similar to that of Apple’s Front Row, software and selecting and playing videos is a matter of clicking the included remote control to navigate through some menus, then choosing what you want to watch.
You will be able to sync your favorite playlists, choose which movies and TV shows to copy to it, and also copy your favorite photos to view on your TV. It’s not yet clear, but it would seem logical for the Apple TV, when syncing with iTunes, to transfer such information as play count, rating and last played date back to your iTunes library. The Apple TV will also be able to load shared libraries from up to five computers, and will let even you stream music and/or videos while syncing, if the content is not finished loading.
The Apple TV has a full range of connectors: an HDMI connector which works with recent TVs, as well as component audio and video connectors. It also has an ethernet cable, for connecting to a wired network, and, curiously, a USB connector.
The Apple TV is not quite as revolutionary as the iPhone, but it’s the latest extension in Apple’s “Trojan horse” strategy. This consists of Apple using iTunes to sell content that users can then access in a variety of locations. It started with iTunes selling music; branched out into TV shows; then movies. Before the advent of the Apple TV, users would need to either connect a computer to their TV to watch these videos or copy them to a video-capable iPod and use that as a source. Now, Apple has managed to integrate the iTunes sales platform, its content management features, and the living room. The Apple TV is less important for Apple as a device that they can sell for profit than it is as a conduit which will make it easier to bring TV shows and movies, sold on the iTunes store, into the living room.
At the very end of yesterday’s keynote address, Steve Jobs mentioned that Apple was changing its name. Previously known as Apple Computer, the company will now be called Apple Inc. Both the iPhone and the Apple TV underscore the importance of this name change, showing that the Macintosh is no longer Apple’s only focus. As the strong sales of the iPod in the past few years have shown, Apple is morphing itself from a computer hardware and software vendor to a manufacturer of other consumer electronic devices. Apple was not exaggerating when they suggested that the next 30 years were beginning.
