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Really? "It brings Android to your TV". Have you ever used an Android device? I'll be your tour guide. AppleTV lets you choose from tens of thousands of movies

Really? "It brings Android to your TV". Have you ever used an Android device? I'll be your tour guide. AppleTV lets you choose from tens of thousands of movies and TV series to rent or buy. The Android Market [1] is the "app store" of Android devices (we also have the Amazon App Store [2]). You can buy from tens of thousands of apps, movies, and books. It doesn't have TV shows, but the Netflix [3] and Hulu [4] apps do. Also, the Kindle currently supports Amazon's Instant Video streaming [5], so it's probably only a matter of time before other Android devices support it. Then there are all the less conventional apps for streaming TV [6]. It can stream any file you have in your iTunes library on your Mac and PC, over WiFi. It can wirelessly stream from an iPad or iPhone. AirSync by doubleTwist [7] can do that as well, works with Mac and PC. If you just want iTunes support directly, there is the iTunes Remote [8] which can control the music on your computer or stream it to your Android device with AirBubble [9]. There's also Twonky [10] and tons of other such apps to choose from. It can wirelessly stream from an iPad or iPhone. It can even show an iOS game on your TV, turning your iPhone or iPad into a controller and your TV into a game console. This kinda overlaps with the last point, but a couple more apps that I think get close to this include Plex [11] and Skifta [12]. I don't see how an Android dongle will allow you to do any of that. It brings Android to your TV. So replace "your Android device" with "your TV" in the above examples. [1] http://market.android.com http://market.android.com [2] http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011 http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149... [3] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.netflix.mediaclient https://market.android.com/details?id=com.netflix.mediaclien... [4] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hulu.plus https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hulu.plus [5] http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/devices http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/devices [6] http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-apps-for-streaming-tv-movies-12188/ http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-apps-for-stream... [7] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.doubleTwist.androidPlayerProKey https://market.android.com/details?id=com.doubleTwist.androi... [8] https://market.android.com/details?id=hyperfine.hftunes.release https://market.android.com/details?id=hyperfine.hftunes.rele... [9] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android.airbubble https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bubblesoft.android... [10] http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/twonky-wireless-media-streaming-from-android-to-tv-pc-dlna-devices/ http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/twonky-wireless-media-st... [11] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.plexapp.gtv https://market.android.com/details?id=com.plexapp.gtv [12] https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skifta.android.app https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skifta.android.app

Samuel_Michon 15y ago
Thanks for the information. I'm afraid you missed my point, though. AppleTV does all of these things I described out of the box. It's all very well integrated, anyone will know how to use it. The scenario you described is far less straightforward, and from reading the reviews for some of these solutions you proposed, one's mileage may vary. Sure, this appeals to hackers and tinkerers, but to consumers not so much. A while back I heard someone argue that when you buy a DELL computer, you can develop iOS apps just as well as on a Mac. You only need some drivers, cracks and a Mac OS X DVD. And you need to make sure you get the right model, with the right chipset, otherwise your sound or WiFi won't work. Somehow, I was reminded of that discussion just now.
- JangoSteve 15y ago
  I hear ya. For what it's worth, I never said it did any of those things as well as AppleTV, only that it did them. I don't think it's really fair to fault this device for not being as slick as AppleTV, considering the profound price difference.
  - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
    Gotcha, and thanks again for the links. Some apps I knew about, but some I didn't. Not sure I'd call $20 a profound price difference though. The current AppleTV has been in stores for over a year and costs $99. The Android dongle has no shipping date and is supposed to cost $79 when it comes out (we'll have to wait and see).

Samuel_Michon 15y ago

Thanks for the information. I'm afraid you missed my point, though. AppleTV does all of these things I described out of the box. It's all very well integrated, anyone will know how to use it. The scenario you described is far less straightforward, and from reading the reviews for some of these solutions you proposed, one's mileage may vary. Sure, this appeals to hackers and tinkerers, but to consumers not so much. A while back I heard someone argue that when you buy a DELL computer, you can develop iOS apps just as well as on a Mac. You only need some drivers, cracks and a Mac OS X DVD. And you need to make sure you get the right model, with the right chipset, otherwise your sound or WiFi won't work. Somehow, I was reminded of that discussion just now.

JangoSteve 15y ago
I hear ya. For what it's worth, I never said it did any of those things as well as AppleTV, only that it did them. I don't think it's really fair to fault this device for not being as slick as AppleTV, considering the profound price difference.
- Samuel_Michon 15y ago
  Gotcha, and thanks again for the links. Some apps I knew about, but some I didn't. Not sure I'd call $20 a profound price difference though. The current AppleTV has been in stores for over a year and costs $99. The Android dongle has no shipping date and is supposed to cost $79 when it comes out (we'll have to wait and see).