Hasta La Gadget!

It’s no secret that Apple has been talking to content providers in the past, presumably for the mythical Apple Television, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the company is currently in talks with US cable providers to allow consumers to use a set-top-box manufactured by Cupertino. The box will reportedly allow consumers to access live television as well as other content, according to people familiar with the matter.

Instead of licensing content directly, Apple will go through the cable providers, offering a set-top-box that offers a mix of live television and custom apps. According to the report, the box that Apple is planning to build could cost “hundreds of dollars”, not unlike the current devices offered by Motorola, among others. Rather than building an actual television, Apple could slowly but surely makes its way into the industry, building up credibility with partners before moving ahead with its own plans. The Wall Street Journal does note, however, that Apple has built prototype televisions in the past.

According to the WSJ, Apple hasn’t yet reached a deal with any cable operators, as the companies may be reluctant to let Apple participate in the TV game. It’s not the first time Apple has approached content providers with the prospect of some sort of device based around the television. Steve Jobs reportedly approached the CEO of CBS last year about providing content for a new Apple television subscription-based service, an offer that was met with rejection.

Rumors have popped up for years suggesting that Apple is working on a television, but things have been quiet on that front as of late. The last time we heard about the fabled Apple television it was said to resemble a Cinema Display, with voice recognition powered by Siri allowing users to control the TV with only their voice. Sharp is said to be providing IGZO panels for the TV, but if this new report from the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, Apple may be trying a different route instead.

[via The Next Web]

Apple tipped for live TV set-top box is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the phone company was the source for internet access, first with traditional dial-up and later with DSL. That quickly began to change as cable companies started offering their own alternative, though, and the AP is now reporting that the second quarter of this year saw something of a milestone. According to its tally, the eight largest phone companies in the US lost a collective 70,000 broadband subscribers in Q2 (DSL or otherwise), while the four biggest cable companies continued to grow with 290,000 new subscribers. As it notes, AT&T is the main culprit for that overall decline, with it losing 96,000 broadband subscribers while the other phone companies all saw modest growth. It also notes that second quarter is a generally weak one for all broadband providers, what with college students cancelling their subscriptions before heading home — but, then again, this is the first time that the phone companies haven’t seen at least some growth during the period. Of course, this is also just home broadband we’re talking about — mobile broadband is another matter altogether.

Filed under: Internet

Phone companies see loss of broadband subscribers for first time in Q2, cable continues to gain originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wikipedia went down for a couple of hours yesterday. The reason? Some dumb ass managed to sever the fiber cables connecting the site’s servers in Florida. More »

TWC pushed out its second quarter results, showing it’s following the trend of shedding customers without hurting the bottom line. It took in $5.4 billion in revenue for the three month period — with more cash coming from selling higher tiers of service to existing users — leaving it with a net profit of $452 million. The company reported that it lost 169,000 residential video subscribers but gained 104,000 back across its high-speed data and voice businesses, which it described as “organic decline,” but looks more like cord-cutting to us.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Time Warner Cable lost 169,000 subscribers, spares DirecTV’s blushes originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m already avoiding the purchase of new iPhone accessories, other than cases, in preparation for the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone, as there continue to be rumors that Apple’s new dock connector will be a 19-pin port instead of the long-standing universal iOS 30-pin port.

One possible reason for this move is to make space for the earphone jack, which is rumored to be moving from the top of the device to the bottom, but it’s also possible that the dock connector is shrinking is to allow for the next iPod nano to get even smaller, or to make room for a bigger battery inside the iPhone. Assuming the iPhone 5 will have an upgraded CPU, larger screen, and 4G connectivity, more power will be a must.

It’s likely that Apple will make a 30-pin to 19-pin adapter of some sort, which will help for charging and other corded accessories, but that won’t exactly make connecting with existing docking stands practical.

Regardless of reason, this change will certainly make current iPhone users irate, as cables, docks, adapters will all be rendered useless to anyone who upgrades to the next iPhone. Accessory-makers will be happy, since users will have to purchase more things from them.

[via Reuters]