Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Pros vs. Cons of the Apple TV

The Apple TV sold in stores today is not the same as the original Apple TV idea. The original Apple TV has been discontinued and Apple has started selling the black second version. Many people have a distorted idea on what the Apple TV actually is. The Apple is NOT like a TV that you would originally think of. It's a small device about the size of your palm that allows you to do certain things not applicable on a normal television set. The device connects into your TV and you can control what you watch from a remote, MacBook, or iPad. You can rent HD movies, watch Netflix instantly, rent TV shows, and stream photos and music from your computer to your TV.


We'll start with the pros of the Apple TV. One of the pros is its small and sleek design. Tech savvy people are everywhere these days and demanding the "coolest" devices with unique and easy to use designs. The size is small and extremely fast in speed. Another plus regardig the Apple TV is consumer friendly interface. The interface is easy to use and navigate through. Along with the interface, the remote is very simple to use and navigate through the interface. The upgrades of different ports including an HDMI port allow easy connection between the Apple TV device and the newest and latest technology in televisions. The Apple TV streams the data from the Apple TV onto your television set rather quickly and without problems. In addition, it is also cheaper than the mac mini.

Now for the cons of the Apple TV. For one, it has limited capabilities. It cannot play CD's, DVD's, or record programming such as a DVR would do. The different connection cables (for example, the HDMI cord) have to be purchased separately. This cord is basically needed in the attempt to connect the Apple TV with your own television console. In addition, the Apple TV is not compatible with older televisions which may cause a problem for some people. The processor cannot be updated so if there were to be a new version to come out, you would just have to buy the product all over again at a pretty high price, leading to our next point. The Apple TV may seem relatively expensive to some regarding its capabilities. Presently, the Apple TV costs $99. In addition, when streaming from Netflix, the resolution is dependent upon your Wi-Fi connection and therefore data could be lost. Also, the DVD rentals are said to come out the day it's released but that seems not to be the case. At times, it takes up to a month for a new movie to come out. One last negative about the Apple TV is consumers simply do not know about the product. Apple could do a much better job in putting this product into consumer's minds when out purchasing a TV or looking into a Netflix account.

The Apple TV would suit different people in different ways. If your extremely tech savvy and like immediacy and the latest movies and apps, then the Apple TV may still be lacking. On the other hand, if you are a consumer just looking for a "cool" and sleek toy to watch a couple movies and TV shows here-and-there, then this may be the perfect device for you!

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