The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap… and a $99 price tag
Given how lazy and slow Apple has been with it’s self-named "hobby" product of AppleTV, you have to wonder if they pushed this quickly with the news of the Google TV box?
Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that
Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be
focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon’s
streaming scheme, though we’re talking instant-on 1080p, a la
Microsoft). For those still interested in keeping their content close,
there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage
component, but the main course will be all about streaming. The new ATV
will do away with its current OS X-lite variation as a operating
system, and will instead adopt the iPhone OS for the underlying
experience. There’s no word at this point on whether apps and the App
Store will be coming along for the ride, but it makes sense given the
shared platform. Of course, scaling iPhone apps to that 52-inch plasma
in your living room isn’t exactly a no-brainer.