We were hoping that Apple would get serious about its "hobby," the Apple, TV, and according to the "endgaget" web site (http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/28/the-next-apple-tv-revealed-cloud-stor...), this is finally going to happen.

The report says that the next Apple TV rev -- which WON'T be unveiled at next month's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference -- will be based directly on the upcoming iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD, the article says. What's more, it will run a version of iPhone OS 4, not Mac OS X.

"engadget" says the device is said to "be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and video out)," and has been described to some as "an iPhone without a screen." The article also says the next Apple TV will cost US$99. That would be quite a shock as the current model costs $229.

"engadget" says that, not surprisingly, Apple will move away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new Apple TV on cloud-based storage. "For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be all about streaming," the article adds.

-- Dennis Selleres