40 GB Apple TV Shipping Date Slips, Leads to Speculation of Updates Next Week
The Loop reports on a new research report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noting that the shipping window on Apple's 40 GB Apple TV has slipped to 1-2 weeks. Coming just eight days before Apple's media event expected to focus on music and iTunes-related content, the change leads Munster to speculate that Apple may be making a change to its Apple TV lineup next week.
Munster is basing his opinion partially on the fact that Apple's online store shows a 1-2 week delivery time for the Apple TV, which he said he finds "puzzling ahead of next week's event."
Munster feels that Apple may phase out the 40GB model and lower the price of the 160GB model to make room in the product category. "A new model is possible given the hardware has been the same for 2+ years," said Munster.
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In fact, forum members here noted the lack of availability of AppleTV last week!
Anyway, here's the story...
Changing an earlier prediction that surprise announcements would not occur, a Wall Street analyst released a second note Tuesday suggesting an Apple TV upgrade could debut at next week's event.
Though he said in an earlier statement that he believed an appearance by Steve Jobs would be the biggest news out of the iPod-centric event, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has now said he has reason to believe there will be an Apple TV-related announcement next Wednesday. He noted that Apple's online store has a wait time of one to two weeks for the 40GB model at $229. Munster said he has never seen a delay for the Apple TV since it debuted in March of 2007. The analyst suggests that Apple is either phasing out the 40GB model, as the 160GB offering is still available, or is selling its remaining inventory before a new product launches.
"We believe the company is most likely phasing out the 40GB model and possibly reducing the price of the 160GB model," he said, "but a new model is possible given the hardware has been the same for 2+ years."
Munster does not believe that a major upgrade to the Apple TV will happen next week because he expects such an announcement to coincide with a subscription service that would need to be negotiated with content providers. Weeks ago, Munster reiterated his belief that Apple is working towards a new Apple TV with iTunes show subscriptions and possibly DVR capabilities.
"It is unlikely that negotiations for new content are finished," he said.
But given the age of the Apple TV hardware, Munster said he wouldn't rule out a new lineup as a "wildcard" announcement at the media-centric event.
Munster went on to re-state his belief that Apple will launch a full-fledged television set in two to five years. Such a device, he said, would have DVR and home media functionality built in, and would sync content with Macs, iPhones and iPods wirelessly. He said an Apple television could also play games, with an iPhone or iPod touch acting as the wireless controller.
Link:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/01/signs_point_to_possible_apple_tv_upgrade_at_sept_9_event.html
Most Apple customers tend to upgrade fairly regularly, be it every year, or every two to three years. Very, VERY few people would consider upgrading a full television set that often.
That said, I think it's fairly likely that the :apple:TV will be updated at this event. Munster is right in point out that the hardware is over two years old.
However, IF this was true, the new hardware replacement issue might not really apply. Once we get new :apple:TV hardware, and assuming it covers key issues like being able to play back full 1080p, it's not like the television resolution standards are going to change for many years to come. So, put the right hardware platform together, and you could refresh it with software for well into the future and still keep it fully relevant.
With computers, it is easy to argue that some markets will never get enough chip speed, or now cores. New Macs can make sense to even more than the cutting-edge people every few years.
But a TV in 2018 will still be 1080p at maximum. TV broadcasting in many parts of the world will still max out with 1080i signals. So a new :apple:TV platform- whether built into a TV case or as a stand alone box- that includes 1080p playback at full bandwith- would probably have some very long-term (hardware) legs and still be very relevant.
They did mention at WWDC that Snow Leopard's primary purpose was to unify the Mac, iPhone, iPod and Apple TV platforms. Maybe we'll get a foundation update that brings the Apple TV's foundation from 10.4 to 10.6.
... or maybe not
Are we finally going to see Apple transition the Apple TV from a "hobby" to an actual proud product with some huge innovation?
- 1080p/i movies from the iTunes store
- 1080p support with a solid bitrate for 3rd party content (even if still limited to a few codecs)
- Internet browsing support out of the box
- Built in HDTV Tuner with PVR capabilities.
and on the list of would be nice as well: SATA hard drive support making it possible to go 500GB or larger in the future.
....and despite just buying an Apple TV 2-3 months ago I will be spending another $250 on this new one!!!
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