[simonh]

The money in the TV business isn't in the TVs, it's in content. That's why Comcast is a ~$100B company with a revenue of $60B/y. That's the business Apple wants and an Apple TV, either as a set top box or an integrated device is just a way of capturing that.

Which of course is the exact opposite of Apple's business model for all it's other devices, where it makes the money off the device and the content ecosystem is there to make the devices desirable and lock in customers (but those locks and chains feel sooo gooood!).

This is a long term problem though. I think the best Apple can do is keep involved in the market, have their products and services as well tuned and capable as they can for the moment when they see an opportunity to make a big move. The current Apple TV with iTunes integration, iCloud, Netflix, Airplay, etc means all the pieces are in place ready for them to fill in the content distribution blanks.

The one think they don't haveyet on Apple TV that I'd have expected by now is games. An A6 based Apple TV would make a great games platform. My guess is they want to do it, but have had so many major product updates recently and are so focused on mobile iOS, that they just haven't had the management bandwidth to address that yet. I wonder if a Dolphin port is possible, that'd show off it's potential nicely.