Maltese music lovers had greeted with satisfaction the news last September that Apple had opened its iTunes store for music downloads to Malta and a few other European countries, several years after the concept was first launched in 2003. A few weeks later movie renting and downloads were also made available in Malta.
Music and movies are accessible through the iTunes software on both Windows and Apple Mac computers or directly on Apple mobile devices. The effects of this new digital service for Malta have had an immediate impact on the use of Apple devices, i-Tech has learned.
“The long awaited introduction of iTunes Store in Malta did certainly elicit a positive reaction, mainly because of the fact that we now have access to adequate digital content. This is most evident when you look at demand for iOS devices such as the iPad and the Apple TV,” explained Adrian Micallef, general manager at iCentre, Apple’s authorised service provider in Malta.
“Now Maltese consumers can take advantage of the entire ecosystem on their iOS devices. Prior to that, one needed a foreign account to be able to take advantage of the Apple TV and its features.”
Indeed the demand for Apple TV in Malta seems to have been boosted by the availability of the audio and video content from the iTunes Store. Apple TV is a small digital media receiver that plays multimedia content from a computer on a TV set over a wireless connection.
“Apple TV was available for Malta at the same time the iTunes store opened its doors for the Maltese market too. We were overwhelmed with requests for this device and our first consignment, consisting of a considerable amount of units, was exhausted in just over a week,” confirmed Mr Micallef.
Apple TV is just 98mm by 98mm and weighs only 0.27 kg. It runs Apple’s A4 Chip processor and offers an HDMI connection to the TV set together with a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port and an optical audio port. It also supports Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n). Through the Airplay feature, users can share and stream content from their iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPod and iPad wirelessly to an HDTV.
www.icentre.com.mt