Fortune: Apple TV is a Dud

Brent Schlender, editor-at-large for Fortune, wrote a well-reasoned piece on Apple TV and why it’s not performing up to expectations.

There are also some amusing photos showing uses for the Apple TV, such as a doorstop, a sushi platter, or a furniture leveler. (It’s worth clicking on the link below just to see the pictures.)

We’ve touched on some of the same stuff here. The Apple TV is not junk by any means; it’s yet another reliable, well-designed product that’s easy to use compared to the complicated “media hubs” available on the PC side. But iTunes videos that look great on a tiny iPod or the upcoming iPhone look grainy and fuzzy on big screen televisions. There’s no DVD drive, and you can’t use it to record programs like a DVR either; you have to buy movies or TV shows from Apple.

Schlender makes a particularly good point in that you can’t even order videos from the iTunes Store directly with the Apple TV, despite the fact that the thing has an Internet connection. You have to buy them on your computer first and then transfer them over.

We still think the unit could be the start of something good. Maybe the second time around, the Apple TV “2″ will be worth it.

The trouble with Apple TV [Fortune]

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.