September 29, 2007
Is the Apple TV officially a flop?
Scott Woolley on Forbes calls the Apple TV "a flat-out" failure, claiming that it's sold less than 250,000 units in six months. [via Crave]
"His timing was impeccable. When the product debuted in late March, the cost of delivering TV shows over the Internet had plunged, and the Web was brimming with video of ever greater variety and quality. The major TV networks were adding online downloads of such hits as NBC's Heroes, and Hollywood's titanic studios had begun talks to rent movies online through Apple's iTunes service.
Six months later iTV is a flat-out iFlop. Renamed Apple TV upon launch, the ballyhooed box has sold perhaps 250,000 units--far behind the 1 million sold for the iPhone, which was priced twice as high and has been on the market less than half as long."
... So while Woolley's "iFlop" description is something of a hyperbole, the essence does ring true: the Apple TV doesn't have the "gotta have it" appeal of the iPod. In its current configuration, I certainly wouldn't spend my own money to buy one.
What would it take to change that? John P. Falcone for Crave offers some suggestions. Read on.
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