Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) fans are what I generally call "fanatics" in every sense of the word. Apple consumers are a breed apart -- they have a love of their PCs and gadgets and defend them with the fervor I would expect from a mother for an infant. What other tech company inspires that kind of following? None in the main spotlight that I can think of.

Apple products have the world's best design and user friendliness from many respects, a result of the company's obsession on the art of the user's experience. Compare that to the attitude of selling a product and you'll see the light. But, there are some things that even Apple fans get miffed about on occasion. The love many Apple fans have about its co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, comes from Jobs' obsession on perfection within every Apple product. Jobs can't possibly shake the hand of every Apple fan, can he? That's an unrealistic expectation, but those who have a cult attitude about the CEO, sometimes can't help themselves.

Although Apple, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s Macworld keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs was followed by millions of eyeballs yesterday, the biggest "wow" product was the announcement of the MacBook Air, the world's thinnest and perhaps most advanced miniature laptop computer. While the MacBook Air stole the show, an announced enhancement to an existing Apple product should have been highlighted more.

Yes, I'm talking about the Apple TV. That product, which has aged nicely but has seen disappointing sales results, will now be able to download movies, music, television shows and other podcasts directly over the Internet -- no PC required. This is a paradigm shift from the Apple TV's recent presence, which limited the capability of such a promising product sharply. The good news: existing Apple TV products will be upgraded soon to allow for the new functionality for free. Also, the product's price has dropped from $300 to $230.

The Apple TV product, as it will be in a few weeks when the software update becomes available, will become arguably the best equipped product to pull entertainment content from the internet directly to a small box that's connected to the living room TV. All products thus far just haven't had the user interaction finesse or the entertainment catalog Apple harbors on its iTunes store, and the steps to get that content from the internet to the television involved too many steps.

You can't get enough of a good thing. Or, can you?

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) will offer a new box built by LG Electronics, to allow movies to be downloaded over the internet [subscription required] and played on a TV. It sounds a lot like products from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and several other companies. The new project will also have to compete with cable VOD and DVR functions.

Netflix has a problem, but it may not be one that it can fix. According to The Wall Street Journal "Netflix has about 6,000 movies and television shows available for streaming over the Internet, a small fraction of the more than 90,000 DVDs in its library." Since the internet-based content is probably made up of the most popular shows, the limited selection may not be a problem.

The big hurdle is that video content delivery over the internet has become such a crowded industry that it is difficult to imagine how one company will stand out. Cable VOD is so easy to use that there does not seem to be a compelling reason to turn to an alternative.

It is also not clear if consumers would want yet another box in their homes. Many TVs have a DVD player, a DVR, a cable box and a PC link to the television. The pile is so high that the Netflix box may cause it to fall over.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Although Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) continues to be the hottest consumer tech company in the world on many fronts, it doesn't always serve up a home run with each and every product it makes, markets and sells. Case in point: the AppleTV product.

I love Apple products and always have. The ease of simplicity and excellent design are marvels of modern electronics. But what's always stuck in my side like a thorn is the inflexibility of the company's non-computer products. It's a reason I don't own a single Apple product.

But, the impending flop of the AppleTV product has just a little to do with inflexibility. Yes, there is a world outside Apple's iTunes, but if you own an AppleTV product, that's the environment you're locked into (with YouTube thrown in for good measure) without hacking your unit. Same goes for the iPod, as we all know.

When Apple Inc.(NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the Apple TV product earlier this year, fans came out of the woodwork on how this system would finally bridge the divide between PC content and all the viewing and listening greatness on newer flat-panel televisions and surround sound systems There were other choices, but they were largely considered inelegant and not easy to use. Apple, by reputation alone, always makes things that are easy to use, right?

Although the masters of marketing in Cupertino steal the thunder from most other companies, there are success stories outside of that universe. One appears to be from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which has stated that downloads of video content (movies) from its Xbox 360 video on-demand service are now growing by double-digits every month. That is growth, folks.

The one minor thorn is that some customers are complaining (naturally) that high-definition downloads are taking hours to complete, which is more of a broadband internet problem than a Microsoft problem, I would surmise. Still, the growth rate of video on-demand content for the Xbox 360 platform is very impressive thus far, so perhaps Microsoft's strategy of making the Xbox 360 a central, living-room entertainment hub may work after all. That is, as long as those internet pipes get faster and faster. Right now, consumer internet, for the most part, is way too slow to start pushing hi-def content to millions of customers.

With talk of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s just-released Apple TV shaking up another entertainment industry (the broadcast TV one), I have to wonder if that can happen in the short term. It's true that Apple's iPod led to a complete redefinition of how consumers "consume" their music -- while the traditional recording industry struggled to change from the format of physical media to digital music files. In standard fashion, Apple helped the music industry see that it's now even time to see music without consumer-limiting digital copy protection -- something that was just announced this morning. Well, last night in London, actually.

Will Apple's Apple TV change television distribution like the iPod changed music distribution? Once content outside the Apple ecosystem is available to be channeled through the small and diminutive Apple TV box, odds are that it may just affect TV habits. As in: consumers buying just the programming they want (à la carte) and even creating content to be shared with the world and their Apple TV boxes, YouTube-style -- but on your normal TV set (well, HDTV), not that small computer monitor that YouTube is usually confined to.

The challenge here is creating the reasons for the consumer to buy the $299 Apple TV when programming is so plentiful already -- but it's also costly. Why pay that $90 cable or satellite bill when you really only consume about 15% of that entertainment? It's money out the window for most, and once consumers realize that, the Apple TV could be the conduit that lets consumers "compete" with the likes of NBC Studios, Viacom, News Corp. and other media giants.

This week on the BloggingStockcast we talk about Nokia Corporation's (NYSE: NOK) new phone, the problem with the new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple TV, Steve Jobs' recent Barron's Magazine's ranking, Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE:BBI) vs Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), income inequality, Jim Cramer, and Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) new email developments. And all in three minutes to boot!




Want to be featured on BloggingStockcast? Post a link in the comments section to a video for our consideration. Tell us your favorite stock and why in one brief line and make sure to say "And you're watching the BloggingStockcast!"

The clever folks over at Bernstein Research have figured out that the new Apple set-top box has a problem. The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ :AAPL) iTune store does not have many movies available for download. The count is a paltry 298 films.

Competitors are well ahead in video content. The Bernstein count is 2,407 for the Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Unbox and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) Walmart.com has 1,037.

The Apple TV product is a sort of place marker between the MAC and iPod, which have been driving revenue at the company for the last five years, and the iPhone, which comes out in June. While AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) says it has gotten one million calls expressing interest in the iPhone, Apple thinks it can sell 10 million iPhones in the first year after it launches. AT&T is the sole U.S. distributor, so a million calls may not bode well for early sales.

The Apple TV could end up being a bust. Without content, it is hard to see it being a big seller. That could hurt Apple's sales in calendar Q2 2007.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

It looks like consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) will be selling the newly released Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV products this week according to the retailer. Apple TV is a small device that allows consumers to get all that audio and video content off their PC or Mac and pipe it directly to (a newer HDTV widescreen) television set.

Several products that can transfer content from the PC to the TV have been available for years. Apple, however, seems to operate under the general rule of simple is better. Apple picked a limited set of functions and implemented the idea as easy as it can without overwhelming normal consumers with features and terribly designed user interfaces.

The $299 Apple TV may yet help the computer and consumer electronics manufacturer conquer the home entertainment business the way it did with the digital music business. At $299, the Apple TV is not cheap, but consumers have been willing to pay for ease-of-use and style as iPod sales have shown.

Best Buy will have about 3,000 Apple TV units in stores waiting for an official release tomorrow (Tuesday) across its 800+ stores. It will be interesting to see if these initial units fly off the shelves like many Apple products do. In retail, half the battle is just getting foot traffic, and the Apple TV should get those feet in the doors. Hopefully, it will be demonstrated properly in Best Buy stores in order to 'wow' consumers.

Via AppleInsider

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has traded up nicely today. The stock started off the day at $90.24 and after hitting a high earlier in the session of $91.55 the stock is currently (12:30 p.m.) trading up 1.8% to $91.21.

The stock is now 6.7% below its 52-week high of $97.80 that it set back on January 10th. Apple is finally going to be releasing its Apple TV units tomorrow and this leads many to believe that sooner or later the company is going to be selling high-definition movies and TV shows. The technicals on the stock at this time are bearish but improving. S&P gives the stock a very positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy rating and IBD gives the stock a bullish A- 92 score.

Don't trash your DVD players just yet. The box that is destined to take over living rooms everywhere by the end of February is now being pushed back a couple weeks into March. "Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March," an Apple spokesperson told Macworld.

One possible explanation for the delay is that Apple has not received approval for the device from the Federal Communications Commission. "A pushout of two to three weeks suggests to me more of an issue with the FCC than with anything else," says analyst Dave Carey of Portelligent.

Tim Beyers from the Motley Fool added that "for as long as Microsoft has been setting -- and missing -- schedules, Apple has been announcing and simultaneously shipping its biggest breakthroughs. Until recently, that is." Mr. Beyeres can't be serious. Apple's two-week delay on a single product pales in comparison to Microsoft's history of delayed product intros.

Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek reports, "Whatever the cause, if it does meet its mid-March deadline and Apple TV is a success, Apple will still be well ahead of the pack."

If Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) keeps growing as fast as it is, it may just overtake its nemesis in Washington State in the next five years. An analyst points out that the iPod, iPhone, iTV and MAC maker has the chance to generate more revenue than Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) given its current growth patterns.

In 2002 Apple grossed just under $6 billion, while in 2006 its revenue was recorded at just under $ 21 billion. Apple's dramatic increase is an "impressive" 250% revenue growth from 2002 to 2006.

Some analysts predict Apple's growth to slow in the next couple months due to cooling iPod sales. However, as everyone knows, the company has many new and exciting products on the near horizon, not the least of which are the iPhone and iTV that should continue to fuel substantial growth. According to Apple Recon, Apple now expects to sell over a million Apple TV devices leading up to the 2007 holiday season, and at least that many again during the Thanksgiving - Christmas period.

The folks in Washington State, who have their own massive launch happening as I write this, better think about bolstering Zune and Vista just to keep up.

It should come as no surprise to analysts, consumers, and other interested parties that Apple Computer, Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) that the company has been moving towards becoming a media convergence company over the last several years. As more and more of people's entertainment moved to computers Apple focused on making sure the experience was seamless. With the iPod Apple created the now-famous dedicated music playing device. The iTV, announced months ago, foreshadowed another dedicated device focusing on people's entertainment needs.

This synergy is confirmed with Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, announcing that the 'Computer' would be disappearing from the company's name. From now on analysts will have one less word to type, and Apple Computer, Inc, will from now on be Apple, Inc. This confirms Apple's committment to being something more than just a computer company.

I know everyone and their mom is talking about it, but I just can't resist. The new Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) releases today were the Apple TV (previously named the iTV) and iPhone. These revolutionary and exciting products are definitely evoking resounding ooh's and aah's, clearly indicated by the sharp rise in Apple stocks today - over 7%! We're talking millions of dollars here. Everyone wants a piece of the Apple pie, and the iPhone is quite a product.

But let's not forget about Apple TV - the artist formerly known as iTV. This device ties in nicely with my rant a few weeks ago regarding the annoyance of viewing online video on my PC. Well not anymore! Just as promised Apple has presented us with a convenient way to stream iTunes content (like 80's music videos!) to our boob tubes. I'd say it's reasonably priced at $299. Some of us might have to put in a couple of extra hours at the office for that one, but it's totally worth it. How else are we going to be able to watch videos like Hot for Teacher or Rhythm Nation on a big screen?

Apple is constantly changing the face of music, video, phones, technology, and that's something I just can't resist. Despite all these sites distributing free or low-fee content, Apple keeps a stronghold on digital media. Yeah you have to pay for it, but look at what you can do with it when using Apple products.

Steve Jobs knows his audience. And the audience at the MacWorld 2007 conference keynote (speaker, as always, the mock-turtlenecked Steve Jobs, but in brown -- a jab at the Zune perhaps?) had been camping out 'since nine the night before.

So it was to no small applause when he took the stage around 9 a.m. here on the West Coast. And everyone was on the edges of his and her seat waiting for the Big News.

Naturally, in our opinion here, the Big News is the iPhone. We've been wondering about it for months, giving it optimistic release dates (hey, still could happen, right?) and wondering whether Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could even call it that, given that the trademark to the name is owned by Linksys. And, basically, loving it from afar. Well, it's true, and it is called the iPhone, and Engadget reports Jobs saying that it will be a "leapfrog product," it will include an iPod (duh), a widescreen with touch controls, and it will be a "breakthrough internet communications device," whatever that is.

Also big news from Steve was that the Apple TV will be shipped in February; lots of details over at Engadget, photos of the interface and lots of details on how it will work. There is also ridiculous eye candy coming up every minute on the iPhone. I can't wait to do a montage!