I'm not the type to purchase things impulsively. I'll stew over something for months: reading reviews, checking prices, and thinking about whether the old budget can take it.
Last week, I finally caved in and bought an Apple TV. I got it off Craigslist, new in the box, for $60 less than buying it from the store.
I wish I'd bought one ages ago. My wife and kids can easily use the interface to watch TV shows, photos, podcasts, and movies. We’ve also found purchasing and renting movies quite convenient: click “rent,” and the movie is ready to watch (almost instantly).
Blockbuster recently joined the digital media game with its box. I can see Blockbuster having a slight advantage in that they have existing retail stores from which to promote their new box. However, I think much of this is about how “cross-platform” a given solution is.
When I buy a movie on iTunes, it becomes available to my wife’s iPod, my iPhone, our home iMac, my work Macbook and our Apple TV. That makes it a convenient and attractive choice for homes that already own one more of those Apple products.
This kind of cross-platform functionality isn’t there for the competition: Vudu, Roku, Xbox 360, TiVo, or Blockbuster.