Kevin Rose Says Apple Will Take Down the Cable/Satellite Industry

Digg founder Kevin Rose is at it again. Earlier this year he was dropping ru...
Kevin Rose Says Apple Will Take Down the Cable/Satellite Industry
Written by Chris Crum
  • Digg founder Kevin Rose is at it again. Earlier this year he was dropping rumors about Google working on a new social network project (which has since become known as "Google Me", though this is an unconfirmed name). Now he is saying Apple TV, a new set-top box from Apple running iOS will not only be out in September, but will "change everything."

    Though he says Apple TV will be renamed, he says to expect an App Store for interactive TV apps that will eventually "destroy the television side of the cable and satellite industry". He says your only requirement will be to access "on-demand stations" with an Internet connection. "Say goodbye to your monthly cable bill," he proclaims.

    Apple’s product is rumored to cost around $99, which would be substantially less than Dish Network’s Google TV offering if a recent survey from the company is any indication. "At $99 your parents, grandparents, and friends will have an iTV," says Rose.  "Sharing pictures/videos from your iPhone will happen with the push of a button.  Imagine getting a notification of new family videos the next time you turn on your TV. My mom will love this feature." 

    Of couse Google TV will come in many different forms – not just the Dish Network offering. Rose also says the iPad will become one big remote. Clearly the competition between Apple and Google will continue in this space, and why I hesitate to dismiss all of Rose’s predictions completely, some of them may be a long way off if they are true at all.

    For instance, I don’t see this taking the place of cable/satellite without all of the networks jumping on board, and that will probably not be so simple. I’d have to give the edge to Google in this area, as it is launching Google TV with Dish Network as a partner – people won’t have to give up the channels they like to use Google TV. They will get the best of both worlds – TV and Internet/Apps.

    Google TV will be integrated with Android, making a wide range of Android devices remote controls in a sense. This was discussed by the company at Google I/O. Given that Android runs on so many devices, whereas iOS only runs on select Apple devices, the window for integration would appear to be much greater for Google.

    Rose is surely right about one thing – this will indeed be a hot space to watch over the next year or so.

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