One last thought on ARM...AppleTV

I have one word:

eMate

P.

Apple said that HD content would require a clock speed of 2.0Ghz. Didn't they? Does this apply to apple tv?

The Cortex core is forecasted to go multi-core in 2009/2010. The IP was release by ARM in Oct 07 and it takes about 18 months to deliver a product based on those designs. Core speeds of 600M to 1 Ghz. I would not expect 2.0Ghz the heat and power would not work. The current ATV uses a Pentium M single core processor Crofton underclocked at 1.0Ghz. Since Cocoa Touch already works on ARM processors it would be a simple matter to change out the Intel processor in the ATV.

next AppleTV ~= 1.6Ghz dual core atom 330 with nvidia chipset and on-board nvidia 9400. Cost will be much less than current AppleTV and it will run much cooler.

The NVidia VDPAU on Linux has all ready demonstrated total hardware h.264 decode and display. It would be trivial for Apple/NVidia to add this to OSX and they might have already done this given the reports of decreased cpu percentage in play video content with the new MacBooks/MacBook Pros. Look to the cpu/chipset on the MacBook for a hint to what the next MacMini might look like.

Something is brewing, take a look at the changes to IR handling in AppleTV OS version 2.3. Big change that enabled seeing non-Apple IR remotes.

From my crystal ball :)

I do not see Apple using the Atom, as it will directly compete against a very successful Macbook product line.
I've always loved the ARM core (from my Digital StrongArm days), as it's the most power efficient core.
Apple's future is indeed ARM, as it's already using it on the iPhone & iPods. In fact, the App store s/w runs exclusively on the ARM (iPhone and iPod Touch).

This is what I would like to see in the new Apple TV:
1. At least two (or better three) ATSC tuners for receiving over-the-air HD broadcast channels.
2. DVR capability in order to record broadcast programs.
3. Program guide to schedule recordings.
4. Current Apple TV features.
5. Blu-Ray player would be nice.
6. Cable card slot would be nice.

Whereas features #5 and #6 would dramatically increase the appeal of the new Apple TV, the first three features are a must. With the first three features, Apple would be able to directly compete against cable and satellite TV companies.

I would personally drop my cable provider if I could use one box for watching and recording over-the-air broadcast channels as well as for purchasing and downloading shows only available on non-over-the-air channels, using the iTunes store. This, plus iTunes movie rentals and sales would create a real entertainment hub that could completely replace a cable or satellite provider and a Netflix or Blockbuster monthly subscription. My wife and I ran some numbers, and we would save around $700/year if we were to purchase season passes for the shows that we watch using our cable provider's DVR if we were to drop our cable provider and use iTunes instead. The only downside to doing this with the current generation of Apple TV is that we would not retain access to some of the content on broadcast channels with and have no way of recording programs off those channels unless we went with TiVo (considerable upfront expense plus monthly subscription costs that all but obliterates any savings).

If Apple added a Blue-Ray player to the mix, they could easily capture the market with such an entertainment hub. Needless to say that Apple could create media extenders that could connect to this media hub wirelessly and stream content to additional TVs in the household. Also, the same media hub could be a RAID-based centralized storage not just for video files downloaded from iTunes but also for your iTunes audio library, iPhoto library, as well as other files (documents, personal finance management files, text files, etc).

I am not naive to expect Apple to release a device with all these features next year, but a current Apple TV feature set plus items 1-3 on my list is something I would really like to see next year. I would buy such a device the day it is released regardless of the price (within reason).