Cable can watch as Apple, Google slug it out over TV

Cable likes to portray itself as an entrepreneurial industry, but it's downright staid when compared to the wild, wild world of the World Wide Web. That's why, while the cable industry must remain vigilant when it comes to competitive threats from spitting cousins Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), it can draw some pleasure watching the two intruders duke it out in typical computerland fashion.

The latest barrage was started by Intel President-CEO Paul Otellini who trashed Apple TV because "it uses an ARM-based chip rather than Intel's Pentium M," published reports said. Intel, of course, backs Google TV--as well as cable-friendly Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR)--but that's another piece in this competitive jungle. He also took Apple to task for building a simplistic device while Google TV "would be better since it was the full Internet melded with traditional TV."

The Mac attack response from Mac Daily News: "Apple TV isn't 'simplistic,' it's 'simple'--in a good, Apple way." The biggest difference is that Apple wants to supplant the cable box while Google TV wants to supplement it, the site continued. "We wouldn't bet against Apple and (chief executive) Steve Jobs and certainly not in favor of a search engine/advertising company."

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