Steve Jobs: "No one wants to buy a [set-top] box"

Steveweb There's a bit of a hitch in the previously reported rumor that a new Apple TV is coming. It turns out that Steve Jobs himself isn't very big on set-top boxes, and doesn't see much of a future in them because of the prevalence of digital cable and satellite systems providing their own boxes:

The TV industry has a subsidized model that gives everyone a set top box for free," Jobs said, "So no one wants to buy a box. Ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us... ask Google in a few months. So all you can do is ADD a box to the TV. You just end up with a table full of remotes, a cluster of boxes... and that's what we have today. The only way that's going to change is if you tear up the set top box, give it a new UI, and get it in front of consumers in a way they're going to want it."

Bold words that take surprising shots at TiVo, Roku, and Google. Still, the "tear up the box, give it a new UI" comment leaves a bit of wiggle room for Apple to announce a new Apple TV at WWDC. We'll find out in a week or two.

Will Greenwald

[Source: Engadget]

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