AppleTV that's really TV and really Apple?

BusinessWeek strings together some 2008 predictions that are plausible without being mundane: Ten Likely Events in 2008.

One in particular rings true:

While Apple TV has been a dud, Steve Jobs & Co. will make an aggressive play this year for the most important screen in the house. Perhaps Apple will even make a gorgeous TV itself, with all the necessary Net capabilities inside. And if Apple can't do it, someone else will.

A real television is such an obvious fit for Apple's entertainment strategy that a 'surprise' announcement at MacWorld wouldn't surprise me. The existing AppleTV is a weak, confusing offering: a set-top box, really, that just mirrors things from a nearby computer's ITunes to a TV -- without even offering top-of-the-line 1080 HD output.

A real internet-capable TV makes more sense. So what might it look like? Big-screen LCD, full 1080 resolution, and an independent capability to connect to ITunes, for sure -- so it can be the sleek hub of home entertainment, rather than a peripheral.

One or more IPod docks on top -- so it can be used to charge, load or playback from the whole family's personal media devices. A camera and so-simple-grandma-can-use-it interface for video calls.

And the remote? An IPod Touch -- or just use any existing IPhone/Touch, which discovers the TV via wifi, or the possibly-embedded AirPort access point.

Now THAT would fit the name and brand promise of 'AppleTV'.

And since this is all just wild speculation, maybe it'll also have some funky new gestural interface, driven from the camera, infrared sensors, and/or inertial sensors. Then controlling your TV could be as fun as flicking through the IPhone interface, or playing a Wii game. Hell, make it so you can play Wii-like motion games DURING your video call with grandma.

I wouldn't bet on it but I'd love to see it!

Labels: apple, appletv, iphone, ipod, itunes, macworld, predictions, wii

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