Will Orb Play Spoilsport to Apple TV Next Month?

According to news reports, Apple's much hyped product, Apple TV will make its Indian debut early in June. The Apple TV device, that can be used to wirelessly transfer multimedia data from a computer to a television set, will reportedly be priced at Rs. 18,700 and will be available across the country, including Apple's 11 Imagine stores.

The wireless device has a 40 GB hard disk drive that can store 50 hours of movies, 9,000 songs and 25,000 pictures. It is also compatible with the rival Windows platform besides the usual Mac systems.

Representatives of Apple say they are confident that Apple TV will be a success here but Apple has not responded to queries about its India sales figures, the share in the computer market or the market expectations from Apple TV.

Meanwhile, Orb Network is offering free downloadable software that uses gaming consoles such as PS2, PS3 , Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii as a bridge to transfer data from a PC to a television set. Orb Networks has touted the service as an inexpensive substitute to Apple TV, as it does not require any additional device other than the console, to perform the exact functions as Apple TV.

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Orb users are required to download the free software onto their Windows PC at home and use the game console remote control to log onto their Orb account mycast.orb.com. By simply clicking on the 'computer' option from the menu, users will be able to access the available video, photos, or music on their LAN network. The entire process is virtually free, enabling consumers to save Rs 18, 700 which they would have otherwise spent on Apple TV, with the same key function.

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Representative for Orb Network, Ann E. Willey said, "As for Apple TV, we do appreciate the visibility and marketing firepower that Apple brings to the importance of being able to get digital content from your PC to your TV screen. This is good. As consumers, we all want that freedom. Orb believes that you should be able to do that using the devices you already own and are comfortable with using - meaning, why purchase another device when you can use Orb to do the same function - using a game console or an IPTV set top box that integrates with Orb (such as Amino IPTV set top box - a partnership we recently announced). For example, today, there are 22 million game console users who can turn their consoles into media centers and get all of their home digital content from their PC to their TV screens now and for free."

Avinash Bali, Channel Eeditor for Gaming, Tech 2.0 says, " If I'm able to transfer all my data from my computer to my TV, using the console that I already have, I will definitely not buy the Apple TV device, since it will be a huge waste of money to buy another expensive device which performs the same function. But this is from a gamer's point of view, who already has a console. I'm not sure if this is how non gamers feel about it."

Gagan Gupta, Channel editor for Digital imaging and an avid gamer says, "Honestly, I think Apple TV will work because of its brand value only. Even though Orb Network is free, nobody knows about it, while people are already crazy about other Apple products such as the iPod. So, I think Apple TV will sell here and worldwide because it's Apple!"

Moreover, there are other competitors for Apple TV, already in the country, including Netgear's media streamer EVA700 (Rs. 17,000) that allows users to play audio and video content from a PC, to a television set, using wired and wireless network connections. However, this product does not come with a hard drive, while Apple TV does.