Some of the best Airplay apps in our opinion – everyone has different tastes when it comes to apps and especially the genre they like, but for us Airplay shines in gaming allowing for a different display on the iOS device, iPad or iPhone, and another for the big screen television via an Apple TV. One of the first apps to take advantage of this feature had been Real Racing, but in Real Racing HD 2 it’s supported even better with smoother gameplay and allows for the iPad/iPhone to become a steering wheel with track information and more.

Some of our favorite gaming apps with Airplay support include Mega Jump, Pinball HD, Touchgrind, RAGE HD, Cro-Mag Rally, Otto Matic, Sky Gamblers: Rise of Glory (now with improvements for iPad 3), Ducati Challenge HD, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, and Snowboard Hero. There are loads more with support growing daily, so feel free to share your favorite apps in the comments that include Airplay support.

Do you have a favorite genre of apps when using Airplay? You’ll also find plenty of other Airplay apps in different genres, and we have enjoyed using Facebook, Skype for iPad, and Justin.tv on the big screen via an Apple TV. If you have a new 3rd generation iPad then you might want to see some of the best apps for graphics, which can be seen in an earlier article and include support for the new hardware.

Those of our readers that want to learn a little more about Airplay mirroring should watch the video below this article, which looks at the feature supported by iPad 2/3 and iPhone 4S.

Update: We’ve included another video below that compares AirServer to Apple TV 3 when using Real Racing 2 HD and Airplay, which shows interesting results for lag noticed by some gamers.

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Understanding the jailbreak necessity when it comes to Apple TV 3 – there are some extremely useful enhancements to be had if you jailbreak your Apple device, and one of these is XBMC. Xbox 360 owners might have heard about XBMC 11 (aka Eden) update, which has been in development for over a year, but the form of XBMC that can be installed on jailbroken Apple TV’s is a little different but still offers expanded abilities for creating the almost perfect multimedia center for Apple TV 3.

If you’re new to XBMC then we suggest you watch the video below this article, which gives you a visual look at an Apple TV 2 with XBMC installed, and this could help to open up your mind for what is possible with addons via new firmware.

Extra support for videos – one of the main reasons users jailbreak their Apple TV is for videos, which allows for a lot more support with different codecs. Some users store videos they have taken in their chosen format, which are then supported by XBMC and were not previously compatible with the standard Apple TV OS. You can get information on how to jailbreak the Apple TV 2 in this article, although at the time of writing it’s not possible to jailbreak the 3rd generation Apple TV.

Why would you want to jailbreak Apple TV 3? We’d love to hear your reasons for jailbreaking the latest Apple TV, also have you held out buying the new device thanks to the lack of a jailbreak? Another issue with encoding videos to work within the Apple environment is time, and encoding from AVI to MP4 can take a lot of unneeded time but also lose quality in come cases. This forum also has a lot of reasons why some people jailbreak, so have a read and let us know what you think in the comments.

Remember the negatives – it’s not always plain sailing and we’ve heard reports of users not being able to stream content from their iTunes accounts after jailbreaking, also performance has been affected as well. Doing this to your new Apple TV would be at your own risk and something we’d never recommend at Product-Reviews.net, even if Apple does lack a lot of features that could have been added easily in the first place. It’s worth pointing out that in most cases you can restore Apple TV to the factory settings in a couple of clicks.

More stories on Apple TV: You can read a little about changes that are needed for the next Apple TV 5.1 update here, see a teardown of the new Apple TV 3 via this article, and understand a little about the implications of Netflix enhancements.

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Those with the second-generation Apple TV will have to update their software to 5.0 and in most cases this will be an automatic process, you may on occasion have to go into the settings and force an update yourself. The changes within the update are certainly being welcomed because the menus are now much improved and we also love how you can now stream iTunes movies from the Cloud.

Having already established that the new features makes Apple TV a much better device, it’s been pointed out that all is not perfect because a few flaws have been found. There have been instances where the remote for the Apple TV will not only sync with that device but also a Mac as well, being able to control the latter when you wish to control the former will be a huge pain so a fix is needed. Again we have to point out this is not a widespread issue but we would like to know if you are suffering with this problem?

We’ve also learned that you are unable to control the volume without a TV remote, which as you would imagine can become a huge pain. One of the biggest issues that needs to be resolved with update 5.1 is allowing users to gain access to apps, all their iOS and new Mac devices can use apps so it’s about time that Apple TV can as well.

It’s no secret that Apple wants in on the gaming market so it makes sense to allow those with Apple TV to be able to download apps and start playing them on a larger screen. Having said that, we have to wonder if Apple are saving this feature for their (rumored) iTV device, which we hope to see in the not too distant future?

What other features would you like to see implemented in the 5.1 update for Apple TV? To see how Apple’s latest device ticks we have a teardown for you to enjoy.

Update: Having done some research we have learned that you can get around the first issue by switching off the IR receiver on your Mac.

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You can see some of the Apple TV 3 teardown images on this page, although a more detailed look at the different parts and what they might be can be seen in this forum post on XBMC. They try to discover what manufacture week their device is from, the type of RAM inside and how this compares to other devices like the Kindle Fire.

Interestingly the forum member also noticed a second antenna that didn’t seem to be inside the second generation Apple TV, and while we’re not sure what this is for it has to be said that our network issues could be helped when streaming high definition video. Most people don’t have network or Wi-Fi issues when streaming content with the Apple TV, but we’ve experience a few in our tests and would love an option for 5Ghz.

Apple missed an opportunity with Apple TV 3 – it’s a shame we didn’t see the launch of native Apple TV apps, which saw more of a minor update with the latest device and not the innovation we wanted. You might also want to read about hidden implications of the 5.0 update, which could lead to more 3rd party services coming in the future.

Head over to XBMC.org to see more photos and details on the insides, also feel free to share a comment below on the new Apple TV and what is missing in terms of specs.

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Clicking update on an existing Apple TV might be the only change needed – not everyone would enjoy the new software found on the latest Apple TV, but if you want to try it and have a second-generation device you can do so by going into general options and clicking update. Within a few minutes you’ll have downloaded the latest software that adds a touch of traditional iOS with bigger buttons.

You can see a video below this article that gives you a visual look at the new software found on 3rd gen Apple TV’s and the latest software update, although it doesn’t seem much more than a cosmetic makeover, until you look further and see a future plan might be underway with this latest update. This idea has been raised in this article, which states that Apple has included “one interesting business deal” that allows you to sign up with Netflix within the new software interface and pay via your iTunes account.

Another popular blog has also looked at the implications for other subscription services and what the future might hold, although it’s very rare to see Apple hand over customer billing to any 3rd party and can set the stage for more changes in the near future, which you can read more about here. With Apple giving their seal of approval it could help 3rd parties create more sales, but would you be sold on this idea and like the ability to sign-up via Apple TV and get billed via iTunes?

Have a watch of the hands-on video below and let us know your thoughts on Apple TV’s new interface in the comments.

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One of the major changes to the new model is the completely redesigned interface that uses iOS type buttons that can be found on the home screen underneath the thumbnail images, which as Macworld are reporting highlight options such as movies and TV shows.

Users will also find easier access to third party offerings such as Netflix, Vimeo, and other services, and the good news is that current Apple TV owners will be able to get the new interface as a free software upgrade, and Netflix will also be providing 1080p video content for the device.

Another welcome feature will be the support for 1080p content as the device only had support for 720p HD video via the iTunes Store. Apple’s little hobby will now be able to playback 1080p video content sold by the company, and users will be able to re-download movies that are purchased to any of their devices as previously it was restricted to TV shows.

Apple’s Genius functionality is also going to be integrated to the Apple TV to recommend movies linked to your viewing habits. The device looks exactly the same as the older version but now uses the A5 processor compared to the A4 used previously.

The new unit will be available the same day as the iPad 3 is released on March 16th and will be priced at $99 for US customers, while consumers in the UK will have to pay £120.

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Some of the latest Apple rumors point to a release somewhere in March, which we find it hard not to believe there would be some sort of announcement at the upcoming iPad 3 event next week, especially considering they’ll already have the attention of world press. This would make the perfect launch pad for any new product they’d be introducing in the next few weeks, although it would be even more important if these products had some sort of improved integration between them.

The iPad 2 and Apple TV 2 both work together in improved ways thanks to the latest iOS 5, although Apple would always be looking to improve harmony between their products, and an iOS 6 release this year paired with enhancements for iPad 3 and Apple TV 3 could improve the cross product usability.

How could Apple TV 3 flip a crowded market? The wish lists for features on the 3G Apple TV have been published online for nearly year, from the moment the 2G device launched, and we’ve seen many requested features including app gaming for the big screen TV. Airplay in iOS 5 has helped iPhone’s and iPad’s stream web pages, games and videos to the big screen but Apple would need to innovate more in this space for the 3rd generation.

Multiply sources are pointing towards an iPad 3 and new Apple TV releasing together, and this has been given weight thanks to hints in code (the product is codenamed J33). We’d expect a faster chip to help with improved 1080p video, a better remote that supports Bluetooth 4.0 and one that is redesigned with some new slick features would be welcomed, but none of this is revolutionary.

What would Apple need to bring to the table to create something special on our big screens? The brand is known for taking technology already in the marketplace and mashing it up into a new product that “does it better“, although not everyone agrees with Apple’s tactics and feel they are mostly “one step behind“. We’d have to point these people to Apple’s sales figures and explain no matter what they think about Apple, they must be doing something right to be so popular across many markets.

Siri has been a success for iPhone 4S and could be included in Apple TV 3 with a slight spin to create something amazing for those that want natural voice control in the living room, and given this product is quite revolutionary it could be welcomed by those that love to buy Apple products. Would you want Siri on the Apple TV 3G, and could this help you pick one up on the release date?

In summary: For us more innovation with Airplay and an ATV3 with Siri and more power is enough, especially with some tighter integration via a software update. With that said our expectations are for Apple to do much more at next week’s event, and rumors of a new accessory codenamed “B82” and we wonder if this could be an Apple webcam for FaceTime in the TV room?

If Apple does have a secret weapon to innovate this year we’d love to know your predictions in the comments below. You can read about recent ATV3 rumors in our earlier article found here.

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The company has more than doubled its profits for the quarter with $13.06 billion, which compares to $6 billion for the same period in 2010. The latest results for the company smashed analyst’s forecasts, and comes after shares in the company dropped last October after iPhone sales missed their forecast according to The Guardian.

It has been revealed that the company managed to ship a record 37.04 million iPhones during the period, which is a 128 percent jump from a year ago. CEO Tim Cook stated the company could have sold even more if they had more stock, and comes as the iPhone 4S just launches in China.

The iPad saw record sales with 15.43 million being sold, which was more than HP managed to sell with its PC range. Mac sales also increased by 26 percent with 5.2 million units being sold, but it wasn’t good news for sales of the iPod though that saw a sales drop of 21 percent. This still meant the company sold 15.4 million units though, but the company did see higher average prices for the iPod Touch.

Cook revealed that the company has now sold 55 million iPads since it was first introduced less than two years ago. Even the company’s iTunes store saw massive revenues with $1.7 billion generated. Apple’s revenue climbed 73 percent to $46.3 billion, which again beat analysts’ forecasts.

Meanwhile Apple’s little hobby Apple TV also saw record sales during the quarter, selling over 1.4 million units. Cook praised the device and said the company continues to “add things to it”. The company has long been rumored to be entering the TV market, but the little black box continues to sell.

Are you surprised by Apple’s latest results?

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The device is thought to be called Apple ‘iTV’ and is apparently destined to hit the market either at the end of next year, or in the early part of 2013. The last time we spoke about the device, we told you that Apple’s mystery television could come in a choice of three sizes, with a 55-inch biggest the biggest option available.

Now though, a lot more meaty information has come courtesy of an article published by the Wall Street Journal, who are reporting that Apple’s TV will come with both voice and movement based input. It’s not the first time that we’ve heard of Siri features making their way into Apple’s TV plans, but it is the first time we have heard anything regarding users having the ability to control their TV using just their hands.

Another interesting factor from the source is that one of the main features of the TV is thought to be built-in iCloud support, which will allow users to download and stream television content, as well as movies all from Apple’s iCloud. Users will then be able to save all of their saved programmes or movies to a personal iCloud space, allowing the main TV interface to be kept to a bare minimum without all the endless pages of content.

There’s more too, as we’re also hearing that Airplay will have a significant role to play on iTV as well. By using Airplay on Apple’s TV, users will apparently be able to start watching a movie or programme, and then instantly continue watching on a mobile device. You can imagine that will will become a huge feature if true, especially if it allows users to access this content away from home.

Considering that this information has come from the WSJ, it is pretty exciting since the publication are often very accurate when it comes to reporting on rumors. Let us know your thoughts on the possibility of changing channels or browsing an Apple TV interface by using your hands only. Would this change everything for you?

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According to a report on AppleInsider the company will take its first steps towards launching a fully fledged TV set with an iMac that will have built in TV functionality. Analyst Brian Blair from Wedge Partners said to investors that Apple will be releasing their take on a TV set in the future.

But he feels the company will test the waters with having TV functionality inside its iMac desktop PC. He thinks Apple will release such a device during the first half of 2012 with the TV software and iCloud features built into the iMac.

He added “Apple could effectively start with what they already have on the manufacturing line and slowly push their offering from 27 inches and scale up from there to 32 inches and then move on to the 42, 50 and 55 inch market.”

This is the same analyst that correctly predicted that Apple would be releasing only one new iPhone, with a similar design to last year’s model. This came as many others were suggesting that Apple were going to release two new models of the iPhone.

We have already reported to you that some are claiming a new Apple HDTV could be launched in time for next Christmas, and that they will come in a variety of screen sizes. Would you like to see TV functionality added to the iMac?

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