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To me at this point it's just okay, but it's all about the third-party apps. As soon as they can get those and tie the whole experience together, it will be a winner.
 
Going back to read my original theory from months ago, I'm kind of baffled at the accuracy of the prediction and the actual implementation announced today. Keep in mind that I wrote this in May... 4 months ago:




Wow :eek: lol



Good job. Keep in mind though...technologies future is pretty much written. I mean, Im sure once RFID chips are cheap/small enough and companies learn how to exploit them, there will be ways to instantly catalog all your items. Food, soap, tires for your car, your car. Instantly you have all the info at your finger tips. Refrigerators warn you that your about to leave the store without purchasing dish soap...yadda yadda. Its pretty much written already. We already have the tech for much more, its just getting someone to bring it all together and sell other companies on the idea.
 
Like the OP's idea of using our iPod, iPhone, or iPad Apps to feed in to this new box...

Haha, yes exactly. I guess I should have added the fact that I agree with the OP and hope their vision happens, and soon. That would be exactly what I want and what I hope Apple comes out with or updates with.
 
I can almost agree with the OP except for one thing. Why not just include HDMI on the iPad in the first place? Most computers today have been able to feed HD video to an HDTV for at least a few years now. Heck even some netbooks can do this. There is nothing really new about this feature at all. Just a different spin on it that ends up costing more with more limitations.

I hear a lot of people saying who cares about the lack of 1080p but you all know that if the new Apple TV would have had 1080p video you would have all loved that.

I think the Apple TV could have been neat and it may be to a certain degree but I just do not see this selling iPads just to say you can play HD video through HDMI.

Are Americans really that lazy now that they cannot get off the couch to hook up a HDMI cable? Heck even the Droid X can play HD video through HDMI.

I love Apple computers but this just seems silly to me. The only advantage I see to the Apple TV is treating it like a very expensive wireless HDMI adapter that you can take with you to your friends house to say "hey look what I can do." Seriously though you would get the same coolness factor if the iPad would have just had HDMI to begin with.
 
An HDMI cable would defeat the purpose. It's not just about mirroring what's on your iOS device on to the TV. It's about using the TV to enhance your experience.

Reading text is best done on an iPad. It's perfect for that. Viewing (and sharing) video or photos are a better experience on the big screen.

Once Apple opens Airplay to developers, tv will become your link between your personal iOS device (each person has their own) and the big screen.

As in the scenario in the original post, you'll be able to beam content from an app to your tv to share it with your friends and family rather than everybody huddling around a little iPhone or iPad.

Apple finally figured it out.
 
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