Last week, Google announced , an Apple-TV-like box that will essentially be everything the Apple TV is not. Instead of being tied primarily to one central store for mainstream content, Google TV merges the Web and traditional television. You can search for a show, and Google TV displays a list of partner services where it can be found, such as Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix. Since Google TV runs Android, the company's mobile OS competitor to iPhone OS, Google says that Android applications and Flash games will work on Google TV as well. Like Apple TV, you will be able to buy a small set-top box once Google releases Google TV, but Google also forged partnerships to get its Google TV software built right into some televisions; no extra hardware necessary.
Other hardware-agnostic competition has risen to give the Apple TV a run for its money. Netflix, for instance, has emerged almost unchallenged as the king of Internet-delivered video subscription providers. Over the last two years, the company has forged partnerships to get its service onto everything from (previously) no-name gadgets like the , to select DVD and Blu-ray players, and even to gaming consoles like the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. Netflix's proposition is clear: why buy video that you'll probably only watch once or twice, as well as a dedicated set-top box, when you can sign up for a low-cost subscription and watch as much video as you want on a device you already own or were probably going to buy anyway? (We'll put aside the fact that Netflix is still in the DVD/Blu-ray rental business and that its Watch Instantly selection is only a fraction of what it offers on physical media.)
Even Hulu is rumored to for its service. The jury is still out on which devices this Hulu subscription would be available (such as desktop Web browsers, iPad, and others), but it could reportedly cost as little as $10 per month.
If Apple wants to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving media space, especially when it comes to mainstream content and selling gadgets, it's going to have to adapt--soon--or risk retiring the Apple TV to the archives alongside the Pippin, Newton, and the G4 Cube. Considering how much of a stake Apple has in the iTunes Store and its ties to the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, though, Apple surely won't let itself get beat at the media game without a fight.