If you go for pure design aesthetics, as usual, Apple has done an incredible job. The new Apple TV is tiny. It's about the size of a squared-off hockey puck. It has no buttons, and only connections for power, HDMI, optical audio, and ethernet. It also has a USB port, but that currently has no value as a media player. If you opt to use the built-in WiFi and an HDMI connection, you only end up using two cables... power and HDMI. There is also a single white light on the front to let you know whether the device is "ON" or in "SLEEP" mode. For those who must pass the most stringent WAF standards (Wife Approval Factor), the Apple TV is an easy sell.
The Netflix interface on the Apple TV gives you several ways to browse the On-Demand library and presents you with lots of information that is easy to digest and scan through. The feature I liked best, however, is when you select a movie, you can click to a "More" screen which shows actors and the director of that movie. If you highlight an actor's (or director's) name, you then see other movies available for On-Demand. None of the other devices I've used had that feature, and it makes it really fast and fun to find something new to watch. The Netflix interface on the Apple TV also seemed to start playing content faster than any of the other devices I used, and I found the picture quality to consistently superior to the other Netflix streaming devices. If you're already paying the $9+/month for Netflix, this is the best way to enjoy it.
It is early, and this may change in the future, but for now, that can be pretty limiting. I feel that the $4-$5 charge per movie rental is a little steep, especially if you consider if you rent two movies per month, you could probably get a much better value by going with a Netflix plan (which does require a blu-ray or dvd player to get the most out of it since not all content from Netflix is available on-demand). However, the pictures quality from iTunes is very good, and even though the Apple TV is only capable of 720p High Definition output (as opposed to the more detailed 1080p), I still found the picture quality to be VERY good. I watched several movie trailers on my projection screen, and even though the image wasn't quite as sharp as a bluray, I would have no problems watching a movie through the Apple TV.
g for some Kevin & Bean). There's also connects to Mobile Me and Flickr, which were both interesting, but not how I'd spend an evening.
TeamAWAC
"Apple TV and the Plight of the Early Adopter"
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