The Apple TV with a small square box, little over an inch thick and a few sockets for connecting to a TV, delivers pictures in high definition. Apple TV is accused of being an expensive (+£200) under-featured way to put whatever you have in iPhoto or iTunes on your TV. The old Front Row-style interface has been replaced by a far more appealing look in the free version 3.0. But the 160GB hard drive is does not please the average film buff and there's no DVD or Blu-ray drive.

Mac mini lacks none of these limitations. The Apple TV, like the Mac, is designed for everyone to be able to use, easily, and works equally well with Windows and Macs. The new easy to use Apple TV 3.0 software uses and integrates content from linked computers far more simply, thus enabling to rent and buy from the iTunes store directly. It has ability to play content already on Mac.

The Apple TV, petite and elegant in its design, are selling because they are relatively easy to bypass iTunes altogether. "If you want a very good media centre that everyone can use and which matches the Apple aesthetic, the Apple TV is the one for you".