Along with all the music related iPod announcements made by Apple today, they also revealed the next generation Apple TV. At first I was amazed by the small size, ability to stream Netflix, and more. I then took a deeper look into the functionality for the $99 Apple TV and discovered I already had that and more in the cheaper Roku HD and don’t know why I would want to buy an Apple TV instead.
Yep. I love all three of my Roku's.
The only benefit I see from the apple box is the easier integration with iTunes on my desktop mac.
However, the Roku already does WAY more than the Apple one. Also, you will always be beholden to Steve Jobs personal whims with the Apple box (e.g. no flash support on apple portables, draconian control of all applications in the app store). Development for the Roku is quite open and I've enjoyed playing with a bunch of "private" channels offered to the overall Roku community. Some of those went on to become officially sanctioned channels because of the quality of their development.
I always welcome competition to any market, but this is one long-time Apple fanboy that is not impressed. For now, I am not willing to spend money on a product that doesn't even do what has been available in my house for quite some time already...
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