Apple TV’s increased popularity is creating ecosystem of tools and apps

tomek — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:37:13 +0000

Apple TV, which has recently taken the #1 spot of top-sellers in the TV and Video category on Amazon, is experiencing a surge in sales in recent months and developers like Firemint, Splitmo or Cerebral Gardens are taking notice.

“We are excited about how popular Apple TV has become as a way to enjoy content without paying high cable bills,” said Rob Witman, founder at Splitmo, makers of Air Show, a photo sharing and editing tool for iPad and iPhone via HDTVs. “And we are taking it a few steps further. We are focused on letting customers enhance their devices and use their HDTV and iPad for a shared video and entertainment experience. Companies like us see an opportunity to create very cool experiences to share on the big screen using platforms like Apple TV.” Apple has sold 5 million Apple TVs in fiscal 2012.

Also read: Air Show HD – Review

Cerebral Gardens is a developer that leverages AirPlay‘s dual screen capabilities with their popular app Party Doodles for iOS. “Apple’s AirPlay technology opens the door to all kinds of innovative app ideas that aren’t possible on other platforms,” said Dave Wood, president at Cerebral Gardens. ”Being able to wirelessly connect a big HD screen to a mobile device enables developers to create a much more immersive experience for their customers.”

Also read: Apple TV gaming: Party Doodles for iPad and Apple TV

Whether it’s multi-player games like Firemint’s Real Racing 2 HD, which offers a split-screen gaming experience from iPad to HDTV, or MetalStorm: Wingman from Z2Live that features seamless AirPlay compatibility, an ecosystem of games and tools is emerging around Apple TV.

Also read: Real Racing 2 HD First to Support Wireless Gaming over AirPlay on Apple TV 2

Witman says that Splitmo has a few additions to Air Show in the works like stickers, art and freehand (you can already share your HDTV-edited photos through the app on Facebook and Twitter). He say that Splitmo is also rolling out some “unique mobile to HDTV products” in the coming months that will add to the growing array of offerings that enhance the Apple TV experience for customers.

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AirPlay-enabled Apps: iTunes Movie Trailers

Andrew Webster — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:00:26 +0000

Movie trailers have always been sort of a side hobby for Apple. Now this hobby seems to be getting some attention, as Apple has released an app specifically for movie trailers.

When you first open iTunes Movie Trailers on either your iPhone or iPad, you’ll find the trailer layout very similar to the Apple TV’s graphic-based layout. Here you can scroll and search based on movie art, or simply search for whatever trailer you are looking to watch and then watch it on your device or on your TV, through AirPlay.

A nice calendar feature is included with this app. From here, you can see all upcoming theater releases, along with past releases. I can easily see movies that were released many months ago, and check movies that are expected in the somewhat-distant future (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises are slated to hit theaters July of next year, for example).

Read the full review on Whatsoniphone.com