Apple Daydreaming: Report Predicts Move Toward Home Devices

ptech.allthingsd.com

6 points·blackswan··5 comments

"For the bedroom, Forrester envisions an Apple “clock radio” that pipes in music and other media across a home network."

One of the major things Steve Jobs did when he came back to Apple over 10 years ago when it was floundering was cut the product lines so it could focus on what was working and what had potential (a side project, the iMac was mainlined and greenlighted). I feel Apple is in danger of diluting its brand as it expands into our family rooms and bedrooms (seriously, a clock radio? there are 3rd party iPod addons that already do that)

Most clock radios suck. If Apple can bring ease of use, style, and (dare I say it: fun) to the household I would buy.

There was rumour of a game console. See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=195640

There /is/ an Apple gaming console. It's an iPod (or Phone) first, though. ;) EA and others are creating iPhone/Touch games for when the App Store launches.

Third party support is essential when launching a console. Most critically, third party developers need to know the specification of target hardware so that a game can competitively utilise the platform without being sluggish. However, Apple has a culture of secrecy over hardware specifications, threatens news websites and may have even cancelled the launch of widely rumoured products.

It is cunning to get game developers familiar with iPhone developer tools. However, a dedicated console could be two years away - and with plenty of opportunity for specifications to change repeatedly.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com