Apple TV "is a flat-out iFlop "The ballyhooed box has sold perhaps 250,000 units--far behind the 1 million sold for the iPhone, which was priced twice as high and has been on the market less than half as long. Apple, which declined to let Forbes interview Jobs and other execs for this story, provides detailed sales data for the iPod and other digital wonders but won't reveal any numbers for Apple TV; apparently the truth is too humiliating. A company spokesman declined to respond to written questions."

"Jobs' own ambivalence about the iFlop, however, is evident. At a tech conference in May Jobs took the stage and casually dismissed Apple TV as merely 'a hobby.' In briefing Wall Street on quarterly earnings on July 25, Apple execs ignored the video product".

"How did the storied Steve Jobs and Apple botch it so badly?"

As "Apple TV headed to stores on Mar. 21, Jobs faced an ugly reality: The new box would debut with content from only two of the Big Six". "Many newcomers, far less threatening than Apple, have had better luck luring the studios online. A startup named Vudu in Santa Clara, Calif. has deals with all six Hollywood heavyweights and a score of international distributors, in part because it doesn't try to dictate wholesale prices. (A download of Syriana from Warner Bros. goes for $20.) The studios also let Vudu users rent movies for 24 hours, not an option on Apple TV."

"Apple struggled over the design of the box itself. Revered for sleek and snazzy products, the company and its man-in-black patriarch made a string of dubious choices about what features to include. And what to leave out. Apple TV comes with a hard drive and a link to the TV set, same as TiVo (now in 4.3 million homes). Yet Jobs decided against offering the ability to record shows".

"Other Web TV boxes coming to the market have added far more features. TiVo's latest box allows not only ad-skipping but now lets a user click a remote to download movies and TV shows from the Internet without leaving the couch; TiVo owners used to have to get up to go to the computer to get a movie for the TV. Since adding this ability in July, movie downloads shot up 50% in a month". Read