Well, it is great to be mostly right. Apple did in fact launched a video service today, with music videos and TV shows, and even video podcasts, so I’m three for three there.
The company also announced a new video-based iPod. I even got the Mac entertainment repositioning right. Apple released a new iMac with built-in video camera and new entertainment interface called Front Row.
I’m all the more convinced Apple moved ahead whatever its original timetable was. The only TV content partner is ABC, with just five shows. I do expect much more but wonder if there would have been even more with even a few weeks delay. Additionally, my local Apple Store says no new iPods will be available until the end of the month, which wouldn’t shock me as the time allows more video content to show up. The store staff say there’s no delivery date on new iMacs. They’re hoping for the weekend, but thinking next week. Apple online store says seven to 10 days.
We had a little family discussion today. In all likelihood, a 20-inch iMac will replace the Dell Media Center PC in the living room. A good friend will probably take the Media Center. The new iMac has no TV tuner, but I like the idea of getting TV out of the living room. We still have a couple TV tuners attached to Macs anyway, which would be good for breaking news. We would watch DVDs, though, and the new iMac should be perfect for that.
If Apple’s selection of TV shows gets good, we might even do away with the Comcast cable, too. Right now, the standard service is $50, or about the cost of 25 shows from the iTunes store. That’s six shows a week, which is more than we really want to watch. I’m hoping Apple will add some good BBC or HBO content. I would be interested in HBO’s “Rome”, enough for two bucks and episode, but not enough to subscribe to the service. One reason: How Comcast does bundle pricing.
Screenshot: Chris Bevan