Apple’s hobby product Apple TV may be seeing a new iteration this fall, making the leap from hobby to something they actually care about. Other than the timing of the leak, this shouldn’t be considered a response to Google’s announcement last week of their set top box, since Apple TV has been around for three years now. The new Apple TV is expected to be more of a front end device using cloud storage rather than a local drive. It is also likely it will be running the next gen iPhone OS making a nice triumvirate of Apple products running their light OS (iPod/iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV)
The rumored $99.00 price point and inevitable iTunes integration is just what Apple needs to be competitive in the Media Center arena. But iTunes integration could be a double edged sword. I know if I can’t access and play all of my digital media on the device it is never going to see the inside of my home. Damn the DRM and format wars!
Don’t expect any announcements next month, but check back again in the fall for information about the release.
