Apple TV’s watch-by-apps approach has another benefit – it can be the device that finally pulls together all of those subscriptions, watchlists and movies you’ve randomly downloaded all across the Web. And then consider that those apps could also be used to transform TVs throughout an office into status boards (at IDG I velcroed iPads to the back of TV sets so we could run Panic’s Status Board app). There’s no way to browse genres, top lists don’t exist (this arguably might be a good thing), and finding something that isn’t featured requires typing its name in the search field.
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Last month, Apple executives spent more than a half hour on stage talking about the new Apple TV.
“For now, your $150 or $200 isn’t buying you much more than you’d get from less expensive rivals”, Pogue added. “Apple TV may now be an iOS device, but it’s the only one that doesn’t let you restore”.
A still-bigger stumbling block in the Apple TV’s bid for universal ease is its bitter rivalry with Amazon. Global users can easily access Siri by changing their Apple TV’s region to the US or other supported countries.
Now, you can go shopping on your TV with the new e-commerce capabilities of Amazon Fire TV.
It’s not clear whether Amazon has any plans to submit an app. Amazon spokeswoman said she doesn’t have “anything to share” about a potential Apple TV app or past partnership attempts. What Amazon doesn’t explain is how many consumers are actually confused, or why they don’t just create a pop-up message on their website for devices that are incompatible with Prime. Brian X. Chen of the New York Times says that users will have to use the remote to select one letter at a time on the on-screen keyword, making the process cumbersome and tedious.
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The channel is also expected to tie in products through its X-Ray feature, which uses data from Amazon’s IMDB subsidiary, to collect information such as music and actor listings. And as of a few days ago, it hadn’t submitted one.
