At Apple’s special event today, the company announced a redesigned and re-formulated Apple TV. As expected, the new device comes with support for Netflix, streams content and offers affordable rental pricing for TV shows.
The new Apple TV will be available later this month (you can pre-order it now) for $99.99. While most of the changes to the device were expected, not everything that was predicted was announced.
For instance, although the new device sports an A4 processor like the iPhone 4 and iPad, it isn’t being classified as an “iOS” device. Presumably at its core, the new Apple TV is running iOS, or at least something very similar to iOS, but the App Store is not coming to the television, at least not directly.
Because content is not stored on the device, instead streamed from a computer or from an Internetservice, Apple has introduced a new rental pricing plan. TV show rentals are just $0.99 for HD and first-run movies are $4.99 for HD. These prices are very competitive, especially in the HD space.
Netflix, YouTube and Flickr support are all built into the device itself. Users can also stream content from a Mac, PC, iPhone or iPad. This is where it gets interesting. Using something called AirPlay, users can share video, photos or music on their iPhone or iPad with Apple TV.
This has some pretty powerful implications, especially if Apple opens up the AirPlay API to third-party developers. In theory, that could mean that third-party content that isn’t accessible directly from the Apple TV could be streamed to the TV anyway via an iOS device.
At $99, the new Apple TV is coming in at a very attractive price point. The device is one-fourth the size of the original Apple TV and is said to be completely silent.
Still, the device will face stiff competition from the upcoming Google TV, the Boxee Box and existing connected devices like Roku, the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and other connected TV sets and Blu-ray players.
What do you think of the new Apple TV? Is Netflix, iTunes rentals and streaming enough to make you spend $99? Let us know!
iPad News Source: mashable.com
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