Thurrott Daily: October 29

Thurrott Daily: October 29
Click photo for the full panorama.

It’s been a busy couple of days at the DEVintersection conference in Las Vegas. But I think I can post on a more normal schedule today. Here’s what else is happening.

10/29/2015 10:32:18 AM

Apple Watch has generated $1.7 billion in revenues

So let’s do some math.

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If the average selling price of Apple Watch is $529, as reported by Wristly, then Apple has sold 3.2 million units.

Regardless of the real figure—which Apple declines to reveal—I do think it’s fair to assume that this is the best-selling wearable in the market. The issue is whether the market size merits any attention, I guess.

Apple TV reviews are in

I preordered an Apple TV and hopefully it will be waiting for me when I return from Las Vegas. I have this (perhaps unfounded) hope that, by opening up its device to third party developers, Apple could turn the new Apple TV into the all-on-one living room set-top box I’ve long wanted. We’ll see, but for now, here are a few comments from the A-list reviewers. Long story short, they like it, but the lack of 4K may be an issue.

Geoffrey Fowler, The Wall Street Journal:

The new $150 Apple TV streaming box opens the largest screen in your house to an app store with the best that movie makers, game developers, retailers and even personal trainers can dream up. The long-awaited update, arriving this week, still isn’t the cord-cutting fix for pricey cable TV many of us have been pining for. But I expect Apple to continue hacking away at the old ball-and-chain cable subscription, and the new Apple TV is its machete.

Think of Apple’s fourth-generation box as a way to turn your TV into a giant iPhone.

Brian Chen, The New York Times:

I reserve excitement for products that I think will make a difference, this being one of them.

The device is better at streaming video content than less expensive products from Amazon, Roku and Google, all of which I tested over the last month. While the new Apple box has flaws, it also has a cleaner interface for finding things to watch and a niftier remote control — not to mention more compelling apps and games.

[But] The Apple TV may also not be the best streaming device for everyone because of one missing feature: the ability to stream content available in Ultra HD 4K TV, the latest high definition resolution supported by some of the newest TV sets.

Ed Baig, USA Today:

The new Apple TV has indeed gotten better with Siri helping you find stuff to watch, with a thin and slick new touch-capable remote control, and yes, the inclusion of games and other new apps.

It all leads up to a good product that will especially appeal to those invested in the Apple ecosystem. But the new Apple TV isn’t flawless either. I wish it were cheaper. And where’s 4K, with resolution that is four times better than high definition ?

Google advances video playback in Chrome web browser

Google Chrome Blog:

When you use Chrome to watch video on sites like YouTube, your videos load faster and look better than ever before. That’s because Chrome supports the VP9 video format, which uses up to 40% less data and higher quality videos.

We optimize for your data plan, battery life and processing power without sacrificing quality and with support for the latest high-definition formats. We’ve also worked with partners like YouTube and Amazon to reduce power consumption up to 25% by transitioning away from Flash.

I guess I don’t have anything to add to that. 🙂

Nintendo delays launch of its first smart phone game

This is apparently a problem, The New York Times says, but the game looks ridiculous to me. Why wouldn’t Nintendo just port its best classic games to phones?

Japan’s Nintendo Co on Thursday pushed back the much awaited launch of its videogame service for smartphones by a few months to March 2016, disappointing gaming fans as well as investors who drove its shares down by more than 10 percent … Nintendo had said it would introduce its first smartphone games by the end of 2015.

PlayStation 4 sales help Sony swing to a profit

Sony has been down and out for a while now, financially. But continued strong sales of PS4 have apparently helped it report a $729 million profit for the previous quarter, its strongest showing in that quarter in 8 years. Reuters reports:

The company said its game and networks business booked a 10 percent rise in operating profit thanks to strong PlayStation 4 software sales. It lifted the full-year profit outlook for the games business to 80 billion yen from a previous 60 billion and boosted the sales outlook for PlayStation 4 videogame consoles to 17.5 million units from 16.5 million.

I’d love to know how many Xbox One consoles Microsoft plans to sell in this time frame.

 

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