Apple TV released | How does it compare to the Xbox 360

The Apple TV was finally released last week and as I expected the reviews of the device are not that flattering. I’ve said already that the Apple TV was over-hyped and I’ve noted a number of alternatives to the Apple TV (now there are even more).

The leading alternative to the Apple TV is the Xbox 360 which in my opinion is a much better device, considering it can do pretty much everything the Apple TV can do but also allows you to play games.

Gizmodo did a solid comparison of the two devices and like me, they believe that the Apple TV is more suited to the iTunes fanatics that have a lot of video and music that they’d like to get on their TV, but if you don’t use iTunes then it is overpriced and there are better alternatives, namely the Xbox 360.

Here’s what Gizmodo said [via floppy head]

“If you use iTunes as your primary media software and want to get your content on your widescreen TV, it’s not a bad way to do it, but that’s all it does (for now). If you already have a 360 and don’t mind Media Center, I see little point in blowing $300 on Apple TV if all that concerns you is bringing content stuck on your PC to your TV. You already have a $400 machine that does more than port media, it plays games. Great ones. And soon it’ll be an IPTV box to boot.Apple TV is a bit more elegant in its presentation, I think, and it’s slightly easier to get to content with it, but it could do better. More importantly, it doesn’t do what it does so much better than the 360/Media Center setup that it warrants a separate purchase if you already have a 360, or even plan on getting one. Value-wise, the 360 is the winner here, at least for now.But there are better convergence solutions on the horizon, so if you don’t need one of these now sit tight, because things are only going to get better.”

Tomorrow we should be expecting an announcement from Microsoft on the Xbox 360 Elite featuring a 120GB hard drive, HDMI output, and a $479 price tag, and rumored IPTV functionality.

Over the next few days I’m going to be discussing media extender’s so keep an eye out.

Buy an Apple TV
Buy Xbox 360

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Chris Tew

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Apple TV released | How does it compare to the Xbox 360

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