Despite “weaker” orders from Apple during the second quarter, Foxconn managed to post revenue that beat analyst estimates thanks to its increased focus on televisions. The company announced revenue of NT$897 billion ($30 million) over the three-month period, which is 0.6% higher than its second-quarter revenue for 2012, and better than the NT$829 billion expected by analysts.
Bloomberg: Apple Close To Bringing Time Warner Cable To Apple TV
Apple is close to securing a deal that will bring Time Warner Cable subscribers access to their cable television service through the Apple TV, according to sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, who have been speaking to Bloomberg.
The two companies are expected to announce the deal “within a few months.”
Southwest Airlines Now Has Free In-Flight TV For iDevices Courtesy Of DISH
Southwest Airlines announced today that it has partnered with DISH to offer free in-flight TV on all of its Wifi equipped planes. The free tv service launches today and is available to fliers with an iPad, iPhone, or almost any other smartphone or tablet.
TeeVee 2, A Fantastically Clean And Simple “Upcoming TV Show” App For iPhone
TeeVee 2 is a great iPhone app that tells you when your favorite TV shows are airing. I’ve tried a bunch of these apps in the past, and TeeVee wins out for a couple of reasons – it’s fast, it’s simple and it looks gorgeous.
Watch Tim Cook’s D11 Interview In Full Right Now [Video]
We’ve already brought you some of the most interesting topics that came up during Tim Cook’s interview at D11 last night, but if you’d like to watch the entire thing yourself, you can do so right now. AllThingsD has posted the entire thing — which runs for one hour and 20 minutes — online this morning, and you can watch it below.
Haunting Melissa, A Horror Series Delivered Via Push Notification
Haunting Melissa is a horror "movie" which is dripped into your real, everyday life by your iPad or your iPhone. Instead of sitting down for an hour and a half and watching the story unfold, the story comes in episodes.
The twist is that the snippets are delivered at unexpected times, and you’re told about them through push notifications sent to your iDevice.
Amazon Announces Popular NBC Shows Coming To Prime Instant Video
Amazon announced today that it has struck a deal with NBC/Universal to bring more popular TV shows to Amazon Prime Instant Video. The new deal gives exclusive streaming rights to a number of shows for the next four years as Amazon continues to beef up its catalogue of shows to do battle against Netflix.
Among the shows that you’ll be able to find on Prime Instant Video (but not on Netflix) you’ll find Grimm Season 1 and Covert Affairs Seasons 1-2 starting today, and then Hannibal and Defiance will be added later this year.
Jeff Bezos announced the deal this morning via a public letter on Amazon’s homepage. An accompanying press release detailed the news shows from the deal as follows:
ABC Plans To Stream Live TV To Your iPhone And iPad This Week
Every major television network in the U.S. has its own iOS app that lets users watch episodes of their favorite TV shows, but ABC is revolutionizing its iOS app this week by offering live TV streaming.
ABC’s iOS app will be updated later this week to include a button called “live,” which will allow users to press it at anytime to view a live-stream of ABC’s local stations in the area.
Netflix For iOS Update Makes Binging On Your Favorite TV Series Even Easier
Netflix is one of the greatest tools ever invented for absolutely destroying your weekend with laziness. All you got to do is pull up one of your favorite TV series and watch the entire thing in one glorious weekend of binge TV viewing.
A new update for the Netflix iOS app just hit the App Store and it’s going to make binging even easier, thanks to to the added “post-play” feature that will start up the next episode after one ends. Other features included in the update are a recommendation feature after you’ve finished a movie and enhanced second screen options.
Here are the release notes:
Netflix 4.0 For iOS Updated With Better Episode And Audio Selctors
iPhone and iPad owners who love watching video will appreciate a new update coming from Netflix to iOS. The video giant just released Netflix 4.0 for iOS that makes navigating to your favorite episodes even easier.
The update includes UI changes that make it easier to find new episodes for shows, as well as better navigation for changing the audio and subtitles for a video. There are also some little bug fixes in the update as well.
Here are the full release notes:
Analyst: You Won’t Control Your iTV, You’ll Finger Its ‘iRing’
Brian White, an analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, brings us a crazy new rumor about the much-anticipated Apple television today following recent meetings with supply chain sources in China and Taiwan.
White claims that the “iTV” will finally launch during the second half of 2013, and that it’ll come with a miniature device called the “iRing”, which the user will wear on their finger to act as a pointer. The device will enhance the motion detection experience and take over some of the functions of the traditional remote control, apparently.
Apple To Launch 4K Ultra HD TV With Voice & Motion Control In Early 2014 [Rumor]
Apple is gearing up to send its much-anticipated “iTV” into mass production during the second half of this year, according to sources in the Cupertino company’s supply chain, who have been speaking to DigiTimes. The set will reportedly boast a 4K “Ultra HD” display with a 3840×2160 resolution, and it’ll be controlled by voice and motion.
HBO CEO Says Access To HBO Go App May Expand To Cord Cutters
HBO Go is one of the best TV apps for the iPad. You can stream episodes of shows like Girls and Game of Thrones to your iPad whenever you’re craving some drama. The only problem is you have a cable subscription with HBO to access the app.
While HBO isn’t ready to ditch the subscription model altogether just yet, but the company’s CEO indicated this week that they might make the app available to cord cutters that pay for broadband Internet.
ABC Is Making An App That Will Let You Stream Live TV
ABC, NBC, and CBS all have their own iPad and iPhone apps that will finally let you watch some of their shows for free. The catch with all of those apps is that you can’t watch a new show until 24 hours after it’s aired.
To take TV network apps to the next level, ABC is reportedly working on a new app that will let cable subscribers stream live network TV to their iPhone or iPad.
Bloomberg: Apple Wants To Launch The iWatch This Year
Bloomberg recently revealed that Apple has a team of 100 people working on its new iWatch, and according to its latest report, the Cupertino company is hoping to launch the device this year. The smart wristwatch, which could make calls, provide maps, and offer a pedometer, is expected to become more profitable than Apple’s much-anticipated television set.
Excito Is Like An Apple TV For Streaming, And It Even Works With Android [MWC 2013]
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Excito is an AppleTV-a-like puck which hooks up to your home network and lets you stream TV, music and movies to any stereo or screen in the house.
So what, right? The Apple TV already does that? The difference is that the Excito only uses your phone as a remote, and streams the content either direct from the internet, or from your own local media server. Oh, and it costs around half the price if the already-cheap Apple TV.
iPad Supplier Sharp’s Investment Talks With Foxconn May Die On March 26th Without Deal
The success of the iPhone and iPad was supposed to do great things for Sharp. As Apple’s profits have gone up, Sharp has seen an increased amount of orders from Cupertino as Apple tries to distance itself from buying supplies from Samsung.
Even though Sharp supplies Apple with displays for the iPad and iPhone, their stock price has been falling lately, and its investment deal with Foxconn might be in jeopardy.
IMDb App Gets Amazon Instant Video Integration, New Oscars Section & More
Amazon Instant Video integration is one of a number of new features that has been added to the official IMDb app for iOS today, allowing users who have the Amazon Instant Video app to quickly jump from IMDb right into the movie or TV show they were just checking out. The update also brings a new Oscars section, recommendations, and more.
Apple Highlights iPad’s Massive App Catalog With Two New TV Ads [Video]
Apple has posted two new iPad ads to its official YouTube channel that highlight the device’s expansive app catalog. Called “Alive” and “Together,” the videos use the iPad and the iPad mini to showcase some of the 300,000 apps available through the App Store, including iBooks, GarageBand, iPhoto, FaceTime, TED, and more.
Sonos PLAYBAR, An iPhone-Controlled Soundbar For Your TV
Sonos’ new PLAYBAR does two things: The first is to add a hefty, sound FX-pumping speaker bar to your underpowered HDTV. And the second is to provide a temporary respite for my otherwise vestigial CAPS LOCK key.
HBO Coming To The Apple TV Later This Year [Report]
Amid rumors that Apple is in negotiations with cable and content providers for a TV streaming service, a new report claims that HBO will come to the existing Apple TV set-top box later this year.
Apple and HBO are reportedly in negotiations to make the premium channel a dedicated app on the Apple TV, like Netflix and Hulu Plus. The experience would be like that of the HBO Go app that currently exists in the iOS App Store.
Don’t Miss Our CES 2013 Picks For Most Lust-Worthy Tech On Our Newest CultCast
That’s a wrap, folks! The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show is done and over, but after walking the tech-packed floors and press events for days, we’re ready to reveal the gadgets that had us yelling “shut up and take the money!” Get the full scoop on our newest CultCast!
Plus, don’t miss our own Deputy Editor John Brownlee regale us with the hilarious story of a press event gone so wrong, the internet can’t stop buzzing about it.
All that and more on our newest and final live-from-Vegas CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes to catch our all-new episode, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App. And while you’re at it, be sure to download our other 3 daily CES recap episodes to hear our favorite booths of shows past and funny stories from the show!
Samsung’s New Crazy TV Shows That They’re Clueless Without Apple’s Guidance [CES 2013]
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Every year Samsung attends CES it seems like they try to guess what Apple is going to do with TV. One year they announced a TV that has Netflix and other apps built in. The next they included swappable processors and voice controls.
This year, Samsung’s bet is that if Apple ever decides to make a TV it will be able to predict what you want to watch. It will help you find out where to buy an actor’s clothes. And it might come in a soccer goal shaped frame?
Apple’s iTV Will Be The Big Elephant In The Room At CES This Year [CES 2013 Preview]
Next week at CES every tech company in the world is going to cram under one roof and show off all their products that they hope will change the world. Well every company except Apple that is.
Even though Apple won’t have a presence at CES this year, we’ll see their influence everywhere, from ultrabooks to smartphones. But the biggest influence Apple will have on CES 2013 is with a product they haven’t even released yet – the mythical iTV.
Everyone is scared of what will happen if Apple launches an iTV because it will give them a virtual monopoly on all consumer screens (smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions). So naturally we’re going to see a lot of Smart TVs as everyone attempts to predict what Apple’s going to do, and then try to get there first.
Netflix Inks Deal With Disney, Gains U.S. Exclusivity For A Host Of Feature Films
Netflix’s streaming service isn’t exactly known for having quality content. Their catalog of movies is reminiscent of the bargain DVD bin at your local Walmart. Netflix has been struggling to land any quality licensing agreements and has actually been losing a few. With Redbox Instant on the horizon, Netflix desperately needs to give its members a reason to stick around.