根据Engadget披露，下一代的Apple TV很快就要发布，它实际上仍然是一个接在电视机上的终端，采用A4芯片，iPhone操作系统，内置16GB Flash存储器，支持1080P分辨率。它只有两个接口 - 一个是电源插口，另外一个是视频输出口，节目都通过网络从云中取。
If you thought that Apple's foray into the world of home
entertainment died with the last iteration of the Apple TV, you're
quite wrong. A tip we've received -- which has been confirmed by a
source very close to Apple -- details the outlook for the next version of the Apple TV, and it's a doozy. According to our
sources, this project has been in the works long before Google
announced its TV solution, and it ties much more closely into
Apple's mobile offerings. The new architecture of the device will
be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same
internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash
storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full
1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce
amount of ports (only the power socket and video out), and has been
described to some as "an iPhone without a screen." Are you ready
for the real shocker? According to our sources, the price-point for
the device will be $99. One more time -- a hundred bucks.
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. Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple won't deliver
the ATV news at the upcoming WWDC -- that event will be focused on
the capabilities of the new iPhone -- but development on the
product is most definitely full steam ahead. Is your TV screen the
next battleground in the platform wars? Survey says: hell yes.
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