Apple's next rev of the Apple TV will offer US$0.99 TV shows that can be streamed, but not downloaded, according to a "NewTeeVee" report (http://macosg.me/2/hx). If that's true, Apple would be cutting the price of TV episodes in half and competing more squarely with rivals such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon's Video On Demand.

Right now Apple TV only allows you to download TV episodes from iTunes and charges an average of $1.99. "NewTeeVee" says that, once started, the new TV rental will be available for 24 hours before it expires. Unlike its current TV and movie sales through iTunes, the new service will move content into the cloud and stream it to users, rather than having them download video, the article adds.

Earlier this month, "The New York Times" also offered a forecast of what's in store for Apple's "hobby." The "Times" said that Apple is working on an update to its Apple TV and software, and will offer a completely redesigned interface for it, perhaps based on the iOS rather than Mac OS X.

“Another person, who recently left Apple and was involved with the company’s television group, said some of the more advanced work on the next version of the TV is not taking place within the Apple TV group, but within another design group in the company—this could signal an entirely new product,” said the “The Times.” “If Apple does use the iOS software, it would allow people to download applications like the Netflix app, which allows streaming movies and TV shows; ABC’s TV player; or Hulu’s latest video streaming application.”

And in May, “engadget” claimed the next Apple TV would 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 said 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.