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New Apple TV Allows App Installation, Needs Launcher

Monday October 4, 2010 1:55 pm PDT by Eric Slivka

As reported by Gizmodo, developer Steven Troughton-Smith has discovered that iOS applications can in fact be installed on the new Apple TV with only slight modification of the applications required to identify them as Apple TV-compatible.

While the discovery is an important next step in developers' quest to run applications on the device, the applications are not yet usable, as the Apple TV lacks any sort of application launcher that would be required for an app to function.

According to Steven, while you can install apps after modifying its type, you just can't launch them. There's no built-in facility to do that, so someone has to do it. I bet the first ones will be the jailbreakers (hello, SNES and PlayStation 2 emulators!), but Apple will follow soon.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has hinted that Apple could launch an App Store for the Apple TV when the time is right, but many users are understandably interested in hurrying that process along, especially as Google prepares to launch its Google TV service offering several integrated applications at launch later this month and compatibility with Android Market applications by early next year.
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BillyBobBongo
21 months ago
The plot thickens! :D

Odd that there is no launcher, you would have thought since it was iOS it would just be lurking around in there somewhere.
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tripjammer
21 months ago
Yep it is gonna happen and happen soon.
Why do you think it has 8Gb of storage in it just like the low end Itouch 4?

For Apps!
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Mattsasa
21 months ago
this is good news!

will we see these emulators for ipad and iphone to?
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Dodgeroo
21 months ago

Yep it is gonna happen and happen soon.
Why do you think it has 8Gb of storage in it just like the low end Itouch 4?

For Apps!


I agree, but also for buffering.
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Consultant
21 months ago
OMG the Apple Game Console!?
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Tilpots
21 months ago
Tell me, when does 4.2 get released, again???

:):):)
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tripjammer
21 months ago

Tell me, when does 4.2 get released, again???

:):):)


Sometime in november...probably before Thanksgiving...
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dethmaShine
21 months ago
Apple, now do something out of this world which puts the GoogleTV to shame.
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tripjammer
21 months ago

OMG the Apple Game Console!?


this could easily happen...they could also release a controller like the Playstation move...there is a USB port on the back...could be used for a Camera. Does anybody know if there is a bluetooth antennae in the AppleTV?
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99John
21 months ago
Do people think it's likely, when AppleTV finally gets apps, that users will be able to control how Apple TV's home screen is organized? For example, I have no interest in Netflix, so why do I need to see that "App" every time I boot AppleTV? By contrast, I'm not interested in clicking through computers/my itunes library/movies each time just to see my movie collection - would rather have this always accessible in one click.
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