tequila bomb

The BBC’s online, on-demand video streaming service iPlayer will launch worldwide sometime early next year. Much to the dismay of expats around the world, iPlayer has been limited to UK residents, who pay a yearly license to watch BBC content. Now, the Beeb plans to launch a subscription-based service available to anyone, anywhere—with an Apple iPad.

From Ars.

You heard it here first…

I’ve actually been hearing, for quite a while, that Auntie Beeb is in talks with Apple. What will come of those talks is anybodies guess. Integration with Apple TV is a no-brainer though.

It’s common sense really. The whole look and feel of iPlayer is just a perfect fit for AppleTV, and iOS generally.

OnLive promises to bring PC gaming to any device with a fast Internet connection. Since the heavy lifting is done on the company’s own computers and then streamed to you, the hardware doesn’t need to be technically impressive. Starting on December 2, you’ll be able to purchase a standalone console to access the service.

I didn’t think that they would get this far even.

Ars promise a full run down in the next few days of how the service actually performs for them.

It makes you wonder what Apple may be able to do with their $99 Apple TV and new Datacenter(s).

Such is the word from John Smith, the generically named head of BBC Worldwide, who sees the international market for British shows as “under-exploited” and wants to see the iPlayer opened up beyond the Queen’s home isles. Of course, since continental Europeans and North Americans aren’t subject to the same backbreaking TV license fee, there’ll be a new commercial element to the service, though the Beeb’s bigwigs have yet to figure out if that means users will have to pay a levy or put up with some ads.

I’ve actually been hearing, for quite a while, that Auntie Beeb is in talks with Apple. What will come of those talks is anybodies guess. Integration with Apple TV is a no-brainer though.

With the Beeb short on cash at home (because of dumb new government legislation, and a constant push from Media Nazis like Murdoch to undermine them), but still broadcasting some of the best original drama and sports coverage in the world, this is great news for everyone, everywhere. And could bring a shot in the arm to the Beeb’s finances.

Even at the full cost of the domestic UK License fee BBC’s iPlayer Service is a bargain when compared to the crappy out-of-date programming that satellite providers around the world buy up cheap from the US and repackage expensively (and lace with adverts) for Asian, African and Middle Eastern audiences.

There is a lot in there for $99.

An Apple A4, 8GB of Flash and 256MB of RAM. And space for more Flash in future on the PCB…

Sure the Flash is for stashing data that has been streamed to the device. But I also think it is for apps in the future.

I thought for a moment in the Apple TV demonstration yesterday that Steve Jobs was flicking the remote control to make the unit do things. That made me wonder if the Apple TV remote was going to have some kind of accelerometer built into it. No-one seems to be talking about that today so I am assuming that Steve is just one of those guys who uses a remote control like a fishing rod…

If anyone knows something I don’t then please do enlighten me.

Anyway, that got me thinking…

The new Apple TV is running iOS, and it’s more than likely based on the Apple A4. (Or some variant – where are iFixit when you need them!) Edit : Apple list it as using an Apple A4 in their own specs.

Steve waxed lyrical yesterday about Apple’s iPod Touch outselling both Sony and Nintendo’s handheld gaming offerings, even when their sales figures were combined.

Nintendo’s Wii has been taking a battering also in the sales department recently. It seems to have reached its own critical mass.

If you take a look at Epic’s Citadel Demo on iOS devices it is very clear that Apple’s A4 is a match for the Wii’s graphical capabilities.

Imagine if Apple did stick a motion control remote on the Apple TV and started selling games for it… Come to think of it, we already have a motion control device in our iPhones, iPads, and the iPod Touch. Most people who buy an Apple TV do own one of those devices after all. And we already know that iDevices will become an optional remote control for the Apple TV – and much more.

Imagine the possibilities for gaming.

An iPod Touch or an iPhone and an Apple TV could eventually be all that Sony hoped the PSP and PS3 would be.

Of course, Apple or anybody else could just push out a game controller for the Apple TV and have done with it.

Apple TV

So let’s be clear. I was wrong in my assumption that the new Apple TV would not come out until next year. But oh so right that it would be iOS and ARM based, and that we wouldn’t see the all singing all dancing media roll out that was generally expected.

Apple TV is still a hobby. And if it wasn’t $99 I wouldn’t be bothered about it. I still prefer to make my own Apple TV from a Mac Mini. But at $99 Apple TV is significantly better value than the Airport Express I bought a few years ago… At that price it’s worth getting one just to see whether you like it or not.

And if you don’t its media streaming capabilities on a home network make it worth $99 alone. Being able to walk into your living room and wirelessly stream a video you just made on your iPhone 4 to your 40″ Plasma is a killer feature. Very Bang & Olufsen.

Apple have been smart here. Instead of launching a crippled service, and trying to hype it, they have augmented what is already a solid “hobby” project, and will let the eco-system grow around it. Expect most large US TV companies to be going cap in hand to Apple by this time next year to be part of the service. At the moment it’s just ABC and Fox who are onboard.

Unlike Google, if Apple launch something which is Beta, they call it a “hobby” and keep it a “hobby” until it’s ready for prime time.

Apple TV could be iTunes and the iPod all over again. But this time in Technicolor.

iTunes 10

The big news about iTunes 10 (apart from the new logo!) is “Ping”. “Ping” is Apple’s very own “social network for music”. I am not sure I can be bothered having iTunes open all the time. But if Apple opens up the API, and someone makes a nice client I might be tempted to join a social network which is about finding good music that my friends also like.

Embedding videos and images inline in the Twitter like feed is appealing too.

iPod Nano

This thing it going to sell like hot cakes, in my opinion. If you haven’t pre-ordered one today you are probably already in a queue. It is so close to being the fabled iWatch that I am considering having one as just that, but I’ll most likely carry it around as a pocket watch with benefits. I am also considering going and buying a pair of Nike trainers for the first time!

The clever bit is that Apple have prevented the Nano and the Touch from cannibalising each other’s sales by removing the camera from the Nano and putting it into the Touch. Smart.

The real question is will Apple open the Nano up for developers?

I can see a nano-app Gold Rush happening around this device, if they do…

iPod Touch

Pretty much as expected. Retina Display, Apple A4, Front Facing Camera for Facetime and a crippled back facing camera.

iPad

No mention specifically, other than iOS 4.2 coming soon. But Steve did say that the iPad would get access to all new iOS features, specifically hinting at HDR (now on iOS4.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch). So that tends to suggest an iPad bump around years end with a camera. Facetime is very obviously coming to the iPad as well as the new iPod Touch.

iOS 4.1

We’ve had it to play with for a while as developers. But a new GM has been released today which features some stuff we’ve not been privy to.

HDR photos is a nice new addition.

It’s interesting to note that we’ve not had a sniff of 4.2 yet in developer circles…

iOS 4.2

iOS Unification. So by the end of the year your iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone will all be running the same OS.

Wireless printing had to come sooner or later. But it was nice to have it confirmed.

Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 at www.apple.com.

From Apple PR.

The decision to live stream this particular event does tend to suggest that something Apple TV-ish may be going down.

Bloomberg seem convinced that a new incarnation of Apple TV is coming…

But their info is still sketchy. And definitely does not describe an expansive Apple data centre powered entertainment network.

That rumored September Apple event will be coming even sooner than expected, now that Apple has sent out invitations for an event at 10am Pacific Time on September 1. As usual, the company did not specify exactly what will be discussed at the media-only event, but the image contains the typical clues that this will be a music-focused event.

This is much earlier than expected. If negotiations for Apple TV were “ongoing” a few days ago, this seems to suggest that the Apple TV may have been dropped from the line up. As I have said, I may be wrong about Apple TV. But my gut tells me that we’re not going to see it – unless Apple are very upfront about it still being a “hobby” project.

Expect an iPod Touch with FaceTime, Retina Display and a cut down rear facing camera.

No iPad iOS unification, yet.

iOS 4.1 and Game Centre will be one of the focusses.

I agree that Apple would never require a user to have an iPhone / iPad in order to use their Apple TV.

I think ultimately, Apple TV will be able to be controlled in a variety of ways. Keep in mind this is pure conjecture…

Default: Apple Remote

Option 1: Bluetooth Keyboard and Trackpad

Option 2: iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad

If Apple push out a new Apple TV next month, something I am not convinced of yet, I think free remote control apps for the iPhone, iPod and iPad are a given.

Option 3: Game Controller

Or this?

Actually, I doubt it. But it would be fun.

If the rumour mills are to be believed then the new Apple TV will make an appearance at Apple’s upcoming September 7th event. I have been saying for some time that I don’t see a new Apple TV materialising this year.

My main reason for saying this is that the services that Apple will need to provide to make Apple TV a success are simply not going to be there, at their earliest, before next year.

This editorial from Peter Burrows seems to bear out my opinions. And as such is the largest dollop of common sense I have read on this subject for some time.

Jobs will also show off a new iPod Touch that features a high-resolution screen like the one in the iPhone 4. That’s important, because the company can now say that all of its products are capable of near-HD quality video. Rent a TV show once, and you’d be able to enjoy it on your iPhone during the morning commute, on your PC during a lunchbreak, or on your iPad after dinner.

Making Apple TV the tail on Apple’s video strategy makes sense. Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu estimates that Apple has sold fewer than three million Apple TVs since the product was introduced three years ago. Even with the refresh, Jobs isn’t convinced the new version will be a mainstream hit, says the person familiar with Apple’s plans. Most consumers aren’t ready to cut the cord to their cable company, or put up with the tech-nastics required to stream content from the iTunes collection on their PC to their living room big-screen TV. In other words, it’s a product that at best will delight some of the “hobbyists” that have always been interested in the product.

…

Some analysts do have higher hopes. Assuming the new Apple TV will run on the same IOS software that powers the iPhone and iPad, it will be able to run Apps.

The new Apple TV will very likely be ARM and iOS based. But that still doesn’t mean that it will provide all the services that bloggers are hoping for. If you think back to how the original iPod and iTunes roll out worked, that is how I envisage the next 12 – 24 months of the “new” Apple TV eco-system developing.

My sense is that Apple doesn’t plan to overplay its hand, by making too much of this mobile TV opportunity. This isn’t another “revolution” in the making. Even if Apple wanted to try for that, studios have all but nullified the possibility by refusing to let Apple sell subscriptions to your favorite shows, to be watched whenever and as many times as you like. That might have appealed to consumers who just like a few shows, and don’t want to pay those hefty monthly cable bills.

Instead, the person familiar with Apple’s plan say executives see the rental service as useful primarily for “catch-up viewing”—the ability to watch that episode you missed, or on a lark check out some show recommended by a friend. Apple’s pitch to studios and networks is that the rental service could ultimately bring in billions of incremental dollars, without threatening the lucrative contracts they have with cable companies.

Exactly. And it will take a while for them to come around, and the infrastructure needed to be put in place to make this all happen. And I am simply talking about the US.

What would be really interesting is if Apple were to talk to the BBC in the UK.