Apple TV Rebranded to iTV
Apple has done a lot of ground breaking product releases, while some of fizzled in obscurity for a variety of reasons. While the popular ones tend to get the most attention, there are still many people out there hoping that the Apple TV can find some legs to stand on. The original concept was the bridge between your computer and your home entertainment system, yet the device itself was so reliant to iTunes that the frustration forced some people to turn to the Mac Mini as a modified set top box of choice.
Still, those rooting for Apple TV’s triumph may not have to wait long. It’s been rumored that the device may be up for a rebirth of sorts with a completely new direction, giving users an experience that has been made popular with the iPhone, iTouch, and now the iPad. The rumored box, named iTV, would be developed under the new iOS4 platform and become less reliant on iTunes and be a self contained interface for users to download and stream their media.
The bonus to this move is the possibility of integrating gaming apps into the platform that would then turn the box into a home TV gaming system within an already extremely popular app store of games. A move like this only furthers support the aggressive move towards existing gaming consoles, but offers up enough diversity that non-gamers would be probably pick up the device for the iOS4 interface and media apps alone.
The change would also force the iTV to drop support of 1080p and go with a more standardized 720p for most HDTV’s.
For Apple’s mass market users, a cheaper device that streams easy to buy and view HDTV content makes far more sense than the current Apple TV, which requires syncing with a local iTunes system or downloadable storage for rentals. – AppleInsider
So what are you thoughts on the Apple TV? A waste of time to invest on this rebirth, or perhaps third time is a charm.
