iTV: DOA?

September 19th, 2006

Some are already predicting Apple iTV’s demise before it’s even out of the gates, even as Google is supposedly talking with Apple and trying to figure out some way they can work together.

I’ll just call nay on both these articles and say why I will most likely buy the iTV. It has nothing to do with content from the iTunes Store or Google. Video may just be a bonus. Let’s not forget its ability to stream audio from iTunes, photos from iPhoto, or home movies from iMovie. The audio aspect alone is huge: it’s leveraging entertainment content many people already have gathered for their iPods and making it accessible on a home stereo (likely near the TV) with Front Row and a remote control.

I think people are forgetting that the iTV won’t be devoid of content right out of the box. People don’t have to buy movies from Apple for it to be a hit. It’s important to not discount the iLife programs Apple has spent so much time getting to work together (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie) and united through Front Row. I have the feeling many Apple users will get iTV for these reasons, with no intent to watch Pirates of the Carribean.

Meanwhile, next year Jobs can work to get more movie studios on board now that he has an installed base of iTVs. And according to Disney, iTunes sold a fair number of movies right off the bat.

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