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Of all the Apple products I own, perhaps my favorite is the Apple TV. The Apple TV along with iTunes, VisualHub, and Handbrake make for a fantastic media experience. Despite nearly every Apple TV owner absolutely loving their device, the product remains a “hobby” to Apple. Though I don’t believe sales figures for the Apple TV are publicly available, a “hobby” isn’t exactly a glowing indicator of sales.

I purchased my Apple TV after the Macworld 2008 price drop and news about the 2.0 software. Originally the unit was too expensive and lacked features. The $229 price (40GB version) was much more attractive as was the 2.0 software which brought movie rentals and the ability to act as a stand alone device (no PC or Mac required). I dropped my $199 bucks down on a refurbished Apple TV and have used it nearly every day since. I really enjoy watching TV shows, video podcasts, movies, and pictures on my Apple TV. My wife absolutely loves it too!

While I gush about how much I like the Apple TV, I seem to be in the minority of Apple fans, as many do not own one. You rarely see ads for the device anywhere and I think a lot of people aren’t really sure what the Apple TV actually does. And really, how much can a “hobby” add to Apple’s already large chest of cash?

I have a solution to raise the demand for Apple TV. In fact, Apple has already implemented this solution with two of the other main product lines, the iPod and iPhone. Apple needs a Made For Apple TV program and a SDK and App Store for the Apple TV.

SDK: Imagine if NBC released a Hulu application for Apple TV. What about Google Earth for Apple TV? NetNewsWire, NYTimes, WeatherBug, Wikipanion, and Last.fm for Apple TV? The ability to set Apple TV to play music/video while you are on vacation would be a nice security feature. The list could go on for possible applications for Apple TV.

Made For Apple TV Program: Imagine the Apple TV as the central nervous system for a wireless home music/video automation system. The ability to interface with the unit via third party controls, wall units, wireless keyboards, etc.

Not only would Apple move more Apple TV units, they would also receive additional revenue with App Store sales and third party accessories (like they do with many iPod accessories). These moves would open up the device to third party developers and create an iPod like ecosystem. This would be a win-win for Apple and their partners/software developers.

Do you own a Apple TV and love it? If not, would you want one if third party accessories and software were available for it? Sound off below with your comments about my idea or your thoughts on the Apple TV.

Popularity: 6% [?]

About a month ago iTunes introduced a movie rental special to go along with the AppleTV software update. Each week, iTunes will feature a special movie that will cost just $.99 to rent. You get the same rental privileges with this $.99 movie as you do with any other movie on iTunes. A movie rental for less than a buck is a pretty good deal if you ask me.

The only problem with renting these cheap movies is actually finding them. I spent a good 5 or 10 minutes clicking around in iTunes and for the life of me I couldn’t see any place where you could actually find the special movie rental of the week. Search no more. Wake Interactive has created a website that lists the movie special along with a brief description of the movie and a direct iTunes link to the rental. 99Rental.com also features an RSS feed so you can get the latest movie rental special straight in your RSS reader. If you have an AppleTV or watch movies on your computer, 99Rental.com is a great resource.

[Via TUAW]

Popularity: 62% [?]

With the release of version 2.0 of the AppleTV software today, AppleTV has become a nice addition to any digital living room. The ability to rent and purchase movies straight from the device and the elimination of the need for a computer have gone a long way to making the AppleTV a more desirable product. I took the time tonight to upgrade my AppleTV and installing the new software was a breeze. Here are the steps to installing the new software:

1) I’m not sure that it matters, but I made sure that iTunes on my MBP, the AppleTV syncing machine, was closed. I didn’t want the software update and a sync to be going on at the same time.
2) Go into the Settings menu and choose Update Software
3) Your AppleTV will check to see if a new software version is available. The previous version is 1.1 while the new version is 2.0.
4) Once it finds that a new version is available, it will ask if you want to download it now or later. Choose Download Now.
5) Downloading the software on my 802.11n network took about 5 minutes.
6) Once the download is finished, it will ask if you want to update the software now or later. Choose Update Now.
7) You’ll see a note that the AppleTV will reboot itself and may reboot several times during the entire update process. It also warns you not to unplug the AppleTV during the update process.
8) After rebooting several times and displaying an Apple logo with a progress bar several times, the update will finally finish and show a short AppleTV intro video. The update process takes about 10 minutes.
9) You’re done!

The entire update process took slightly longer than 15 minutes and was pretty painless. I tested downloading a podcast directly from the AppleTV and it was very easy. The search feature narrows results as you type so finding the podcast I was looking for was very quick.

With the updated AppleTV software, it looks like iTunes added a new option in the Summary tab. The screen below could have been there before but I don’t think so. I’m really digging the updated software. Now when I’m laying down to go to bed I can get content directly and find something to put me to sleep. Where are those educational podcasts again?

Popularity: 38% [?]