Rumor mill: Apple TV getting a name change to iTV? And more …

With the third-quarter expected to see a Google TV launch, the rumor mill is starting to go into overdrive, this time it's Apple TV that's the center of attention (again). Engadget is reporting that it's heard the folks at Apple have decided to bring Apple TV in line with the rest of its products and call it, simply, iTV, joining its brethren the iPad, iPhone etcetera.

And there's more. When Apple's hobby first began really stirring rumors back in June, the device was said to be tied closely to the newest iPhone iteration, including 16GB of flash storage, an A4 CPU, 1080p capability, cloud storage and a price of $99.

The new rumor is that iTV will be, sadly, capable of just 720p playback.

Those rumors aren't the only ones that have been flying around, a little history:

• In March Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster began letting it be know that he believed Apple would dump the set-top box play altogether and instead focus on a true iTV, as in the full boat, big screen, WiFi, memory, TiVo, Airport and Blu-ray, all built in. "Basically, you plug in your TV and everything is there," Munster said. That's a much better rumor, and it's worth bringing up again.
• Of course, Apple COO Tim Cook has pooh-poohed Apple's interest in online video devices in the past, telling Goldman Sachs tech conference audience that Apple TV was "still a hobby," that occupied a small space in a market that--at the moment--also was relatively small. Apple, he said, focuses on businesses with huge markets. But, he said, Apple would continue to keep its irons in the fire because "our gut tells us there's something there."

Um, yep.

For more:
- see this article

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