Apple TV’s sharper image
The new iPad isn’t the only Apple product getting a high-definition makeover on Friday, with a new version of Apple TV also going on sale.
The $99 box (#99 in the UK) has been upgraded from 720p to 1080p “Full HD”, making its movies and photos look better on a big-screen TV. Read more
Yahoo could name PayPal president as CEO
Tech news from around the web:
Yahoo, the struggling internet company, is on the verge of appointing a new chief executive, writes Kara Swisher of AllThingsD, with Scott Thomson, president of eBay’s PayPal business, expected to get the nod. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday. Yahoo has been without a permanent CEO since firing Carol Bartz last September. The company has been run by its board and Tim Morse, its former chief financial officer, while looking at a range of strategic options including a sale of all or part of the company. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
Facebook’s Android mobile app has overtaken the daily active user count of its iPhone app, TechCrunch reports. The Android app is now registering 58.3m daily active users compared to the iPhone app’s 57.4m. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
Downloads of Android’s apps overtook those of Apple’s iOS apps in the second quarter of 2001, Business Insider reports. According to figures from ABI Research, the market shares of Android and iOS were 44% and 31% respectively. However, Apple still gets more downloads per user than Android. Read more
iOS5 turns Apple TV into a games console… almost
Amid all the Apple hoopla of the last fortnight, there has been surprisingly little mention of the potential impact of the new iOS5 on the games console industry.
Combining Apple TV with any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running the latest software allows whatever is on the screen of the handheld to appear simultaneously on the big screen, through Airplay Mirroring – including games. The result is something which looks pretty similar to Nintendo’s planned Wii U console, combining a touchscreen wireless controller with traditional console-style gaming. Read more
Apple TV – love at second bite
The second-generation Apple TV looks like being a bigger hit than the original, judging by a report that it is selling out across the US.
I tested Apple TV and compared it with the Roku XDS and a Western Digital media player in this week’s Personal Technology column in the FT’s Business Life section. There are also earlier separate reviews of Apple TV, the Roku box and WD TV Live Plus HD on this blog. Read more
Apple TV is a computer in disguise
Apple TV is the best set-top box out there for streaming movies, music and photos to your TV, from my first impressions of trying Apple’s new device.
But it also has the potential to be much more and, contrary to Steve Jobs’ assertion that users don’t want a computer by their sets, Apple TV might just become one. Read more
New Roku boxes take on Apple TV
Roku is a feisty and fleet-footed Silicon Valley company that has been running ahead of a flood of internet-connected devices threatening to engulf its tiny set-top box.
With its new lineup just launched, Roku stays out in front on price and content and gets in just ahead of its biggest challenger to date – Apple TV, which is due to go on sale by the end of the month. Read more
Apple overhauls TV box, socialises iTunes
Apple is making a more serious bid for the set top box market with 99 cent TV and $4.99 new movie rentals that are streamed through a smaller version of AppleTV.
Chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the new device at an event in San Francisco. It will cost $99, down from $229, and is available for pre-order today, arriving in about a month.
The new AppleTV will offer rentals exclusively, no purchases. This will eliminate storage issues. First-run HD movies will rent for $4.99 on the day of the DVD release. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
