iTV - Apple TV Mk 2 - coming soon?

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 12 August 2010 12:52

Your IT - Home IT

Rumours have been circulating about an updated Apple TV for some time. They're getting more specific, and suggest the new device (supposedly to be called iTV) is significantly different to its predecessor.

The idea of a major revamp of the Apple TV has been going around the traps for several months, positing a relatively inexpensive device ($US99?) based on hardware similar to that inside the iPhone/iPad and able to run apps as well as streaming video to an attached screen.

The latest version of the story, seemingly emanating from Engadget is that the new model - to be called iTV - will be limited to 720p video.

It's not completely clear whether that limitation flows from the hardware components selected (said to include an A4 CPU as used in the iPhone 4 and iPad), or it is a deliberate restriction imposed by Apple to match the HD content offered through the iTunes Store.

Apple's huge North Carolina data centre is supposed to be completed this year, and company officials have suggested it will be used to support the iTunes Store. Some of that capacity could go towards supporting the traffic resulting from the sale of a large number of inexpensive iTVs, as well as offering a similar streaming service direct to iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.

The iTV would be a very different device to the easily modifiable Apple TV. Apple tries hard to keep control over the software running on iOS devices, responding relatively quickly to patch any vulnerabilities that are exploited to jailbreak iPhones or other iDevices. (See Apple plugs holes in iOS on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch.)

But how might an iOS device work without a touch screen?