Apple TV

"....won’t follow in the world-altering footsteps of the iPod...clear that the Apple TV isn’t for everyone...decision will be based on whether you have enough computer-based media files—and a fast enough network."

"...people who live in iTunes will enjoy the simplicity of just plugging it in and never having to fuss with anything...anyone should be able to use it with ease. For users who don't want to concern themselves with media library management, disparate home media serving and libraries, and the more complex bits about digital media in your home theater, there simply isn't an easier, more enjoyable way to get content from your computer to your HDTV."

"...best suited for iTunes addicts only."

"...We're in two businesses today, we'll be very shortly in three business and a hobby. One is our Mac business, second is our music business, third business is the phone business, handsets. And the hobby is Apple TV. The reason I call it a hobby is a lot of people have tried and failed to make it a business. It's a business that's hundreds of thousands of units per year but it hasn't crested to be millions of units per year, but I think if we improve things we can crack that...I use the word hobby because it's provocative, but the iPod started this way."

"...That's a good idea! Let's do it! No... these ideas will percolate up, we'll have a collection of ideas of what we can do with this stuff. I think a normal web browser is not necessarily what people want in their living room."

"...a very well-designed product that easily brings the computer and the TV together."

"Geeks are more likely than anyone else to hate the Apple TV out of the box...almost everyone else who witnessed the Apple TV in action in our presence fell in love with it instantaneously (about half of which were not Mac users)."

"...comes up very short. It's as if Apple had launched an iPod that sounded like a cassette player."

"...for those who want to use a proven, easy-to-use interface to play a huge and diverse iTunes library through a home-entertainment system."

"...only for those people who have drunk the Apple Kool-Aid and decided they really like the taste and can afford the upscale lifestyle."

"...the first media streaming device I could imagine recommending to a non-geek."

"Overall, it does a pretty damn good job, despite some limitations."

"...does so much and works so well...Apple TV is an amazing first-generation product."

"Apple TV offers a gracious, delightful experience — but requires fidelity to Apple’s walled garden."

"...one of those products that you either love or shun....it'll undoubtedly appeal to a great number of TV and home-video enthusiasts. On the other hand, it seems to truly be a niche product...it's not necessarily something I absolutely need to have or use all the time. I don't see it revolutionizing my world."

"...good, but not great, and suffers from a few flaws..."

"...a partial solution in need of being completed...a somewhat impressively executed but ultimately niche product."

"...as long as you're content living and playing in an iTunes world, Apple TV more than lives up to its hype. It's the most elegant digital media adapter yet, and one that we assume will only get better with age."

"...If you buy a lot of content from the iTunes Store, then the Apple TV is a great way to experience your purchased content on your TV...The best set top box depends on your usage patterns, if and where you buy DRM media from, and desire to modify the unit."

"...a very elegant solution to a sometimes difficult problem: getting all that media from your PC to your TV...If you are trying to get the latest technology and HD content from your PC to your TV, the Apple TV has a few hurdles you'll have to deal with...has great potential and opens a lot of doors for the digital home for everyone."

"Making a component for the living room is easy to do, but it is the go-to-market strategy that is difficult. It's not a technical problem.... I don't think the convergence of television and computer is going to happen."

"...it's Apple TV. You can buy great content on iTunes... and you can put that content on your iPod. Now you can buy a widescreen TV and hook up an Apple TV to it, and wireless transmit that content to your bigscreen TV. It's that simple."

"...We think this is pretty cool. Movies, TV shows, music, and photos all on your widescreen TV. Priced at $299. And, we'll be shipping them in February, we'll be taking order starting today. Enjoy your media on your bigscreen TV, we think this is really going to be something special."

"...Apple TV was designed to be an accessory for iTunes and your computer. It was not what people wanted. We learned what people wanted was movies, movies, movies"

"...well again I think the whole category is still a hobby right now. I don't think anybody has succeeded at it. And actually the experimentation has slowed down. A lot of the early companies that were trying things have faded away. So I have to say that given the economic conditions, given the venture capital outlook and stuff, I continue to believe that it will be a hobby in 2009."

"...there was a tremendous tickup year over year [for Apple TV]. In fact unit sales were up over 3 times vs the year-ago quarter. However let me be clear, we still consider this a hobby."