Apple discontinues compact wired keyboard, Hulu Plus claims strong start

Apple has quietly discontinued its compact wired keyboard, and only offers the full-size wired option on its store. Also, Hulu Plus, the recently launched $7.99-per-month TV service for iPad, iPhone and other devices, has "exceeded expectations" in attracting subscribers.

Apple no longer sells compact wired keyboard

Apple has silently removed the compact wired keyboard from its online store. The product is no longer available for purchase, and it cannot be selected as an option when configuring a new Mac.

The keyboard with part number MB869LL/A is officially discontinued, though some resellers still have stock available.

Apple introduced the compact wired keyboard in 2009 alongside a refreshed iMac line. It had a similar appearance to its wireless counterpart, as it lacked a numeric keypad.

While the wired compact keyboard is no longer available from Apple's store, it can still be purchased through Amazon for $46.99.

Apple still sells its full-size wired keyboard with numeric keypad for $49. It also sells the wireless keyboard, without a numeric keypad, for $69.



Hulu Plus 'exceeding expectations,' but no numbers given

Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar told Media Memo that his company's recently launched $7.99-per-month Hulu Plus plan is "exceeding expectations," and has already hit its year-end subscriber goals. The company has not, however, revealed how many subscribers it has.

However, while Hulu Plus allows iPad and iPhone users to watch the website's content on their mobile device, most of the success for the subscription plan has come through big-screen TV watching through the PlayStation 3 videogame console. The early data could suggest that users are not as interested in watching full-length TV shows on a smaller screen.

Hulu Plus formally launched in November at a lower price than the $9.99-per-month cost it had during a trial period. Subscribers can stream network TV content through the free Hulu application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch over both Wi-Fi and 3G.


Information retrieved from: http://www.appleinsider.com


(C) 2010 Katie Marsal