Hooking an iPhone to a TV is hardly the first thing that would cross the minds of the smartphone’s millions of users. But with Apple’s sister device, Apple TV, selling far slower than the iPhone after almost three years on the market, the company may be looking for a winning combination.
A source close to the computer giant reportedly told a tech site that Apple TV is getting a major revamp. The next generation may be smaller and leaner but pack more value, run the latest iPhone operating system and, with only 16 gigabytes of storage, depend on cloud content, according to a report in Engadget, which said the device — essentially an iPhone sans touchscreen — could be as cheap as $99.
That’s a big change from the current $229 Apple TV with 160-gigabyte hard drive that sends content from iTunes, YouTube, Flickr and other sites or services to high-definition television screens. The report said the new Apple TV will be internally the same as the imminent iPhone 4G, with an A4 processor and capable of 1080p HD.
Gamer’s Delight?
One group of consumers who could benefit from the new device is gamers.
“While some of the games for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are touch-centric, other games would work quite well with a more traditional game controller,” said Michael Inouye, a digital-home analyst for ABI Research.
“In fact, some might argue the touch interface is simply serviceable but not ideal for some games,” Inouye added. “So if Apple were to include or offer a game controller for the Apple TV, the device could potentially become a game platform as well.”
If the Apple TV platform described in the report is similar in design to the iPhone, it could have widespread appeal to casual gamers, who have been found by Nintendo to be a… Details
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