TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Dan Frommer on why Apple has to sell a TV, and not just an accessory:

Apple sells complete experiences, not just devices.

That’s everything from the box it comes in to the status and emotion that owning and using one of its products provides.

There’s not much special about plugging an Apple TV box or Blu-ray player or game console into your HDTV, turning the TV on with one (obnoxiously complex) remote control, toggling over to the right HDMI input, and then resuming with the Apple remote.

Good argument. I’ve gone on record arguing Apple won’t release a television, but I do think Siri changes that. My argument was Apple couldn’t build a TV that’s iPod-better than current TVs, but with Siri (and the right content deals), they could.

It’s still a difficult business—TVs are too expensive for people to replace every few years, so the computing hardware included in it would be out of date on most people’s sets (which, after a few years, precludes new software updates), but I do think Apple wants to be in people’s living rooms long-term, and this might be the best way to do it.

Unless Apple’s going an alternate route, though, and gets exclusive content for its ecosystem (which is an interesting idea; imagine a TV show that’s only available from iTunes), this is all still going to depend on getting the right content deals. If they have enough TV shows and movies available, an Apple TV with Siri will be absolutely incredible. If they don’t, it’s not going to be so great.