Apple TV

If Apple announces that much rumored, all new, all iOS AppleTV/iTV this Wednesday at their annual special music event, what kind of apps would you want on it?

When Apple introduced iPad, they let it run pretty much every iOS app made for iPhone and iPod touch (absent camera and phone apps, of course) by boxing them or pixel doubling them. Depending on the exact nature of the app, however, the experience at 1024x768 and 9.7-inches varied from fine to dismal. Luckily there were 5000 or so iPad specific apps available at launch and that number has continued to grow.

Now iPhone 4 -- and likely soon iPod touch 4 -- have 960x640 displays but still only 3.5-inches. If iPad was a step up, iTV will be a leap. There's an outside chance of 1920x1080 or the current 1280x720, both of which are probably workable just like they were for iPad... except TV screens won't be multitouch and they won't be in our hands or on our laps.

What made the 2007 iPhone a breakaway hit, what let it change the industry was its multitouch user interface. It disintermediated physical keyboards and styluses and let us touch and directly manipulate the UI.

Sitting 10 feet away, far removed from 30 to 70-inch screens, acting through some type of remote, wand, scroller, trackpad, or iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, what kind of apps make the most sense?

Dan Wineman’s concept, above, for an iOS-powered Apple TV/iTV remote that's essentially an iPod touch without the screen, is interesting. Same accelerometer/gyro, same multitouch, same home button.

Apple has just started sending out invitations for a special event -- it's annual special music event typically involving iTunes and iPads -- on September 1, 2010.

Chad says we buried the lede: Bloomberg also claims Apple's annual special music -- and this time TV -- event will be held September 7. That's not official, of course. We'll only know for sure when Apple sends out the invitations.

Remember those rumors of $0.99 iTunes TV show rentals? They're back. This time with word that FOX-owner Newcorp is in "advanced talks" over the service. CBS and Disney (which has Steve Jobs as their largest share holder) are also rumored to be involved.

Digg founder Kevin Rose thinks the upcoming $99, iOS-powered Apple TV/iTV will change everything when it launches this September:

AppleInsider, quoting "people familiar with the matter" says iOS 4.1 is currently being tested by Apple not only on iPhone 4 (currently available to developers) but the upcoming iPod touch 4 refresh, iPad 2, and an unknown mystery device.

There's a rumor -- repeat, rumor -- going around that Apple will switch the Apple TV to iOS and rename it iTV, and that seems to be enough to get British broadcaster ITV all dressed and wigged up in litigation clothes.

"You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to protect it."

Ouch. Meow.

Apple for their part is staying mum:

"Apple does not comment on rumours and speculation."

Engadget has received info from a trusted source that the next Apple TV will be renamed iTV, have apps, and unfortunately, not support 1080p playback.

Digitimes, which should always be taken with a huge honking grain of salt, is reporting that Apple is readying CDMA iPhone 4, a 7-inch Cortex A9-based iPad 2, and only Jobs knows what else:

• Apple is set launch an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad adopting a new ARM Cortex-A9-based processor and 512MB RAM in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the company will also launch a 7-inch iPad using the Cortex-A9 processor and an IPS panel with a resolution of 1024×768

• As for the CDMA iPhone, Pegatron Technology is expected to start mass production in December and will supply to both US-based Verizon Wireless and China-based China Telecom