Get Ready for iTV

by Lawrence Jordan

Internet guru and Digg.com co-founder Kevin Rose let loose a juicy rumor over the weekend with some purported inside knowledge about AppleTV, soon to be rebooted/rebranded as iTV.

In a post on his blog entitled “Why Apple’s iTV will change everything?” Rose talks about a future of iTV apps (similar to their iPhone/Pod/Pad siblings) that will create an entirely new marketplace for both passive and interactive television. If you thought Tivo was a game changer, iTV’s potential is staggering. Digital picture and video sharing, video recording and editing, interactive news and multi-player games, these are just a few of the products imagined to be available for iTV, which Rose expects to see launched “in September”.

Rose writes “say goodbye to your monthly cable bill.” By using Apple’s new iAd technology, legacy broadcasters such as the big three TV networks will have the ability to directly monetize and distribute their content over the internet streaming box, obviating the need for cable and satellite broadcasters.

“The iPad will turn into one big, badass remote control” blogs Rose, as Apple’s new tablet computer is anticipated to be the logical input device for iTV. Editing your videos, controlling games and sharing “FaceTime” with the grandparents are just a few other possibilities of iTV. For viewers this will change the nature of television as an entertainment medium. For producers, the barriers to starting you’re own network have been lowered once again.