I'm hoping that Apple do this -- the TV industry is screaming out for someone like them to come along and shake up the market. My only concern is to do with obs

I'm hoping that Apple do this -- the TV industry is screaming out for someone like them to come along and shake up the market. My only concern is to do with obsolescence. Apple could put the key electronics into a replaceable cartridge, so that it can be upgraded every year or so. In fact, the way I imagined Apple could get into the TV business would be to partner with an existing manufacturer to make TVs that are basically glorified iPod docks, and Apple would make an Apple TV "3.0" that fits into that dock. The TV supplies it power and an infra-red signal, and the Apple TV supplies the picture. Sony, LG or Panasonic could be a launch partner, but the aim would be to have every manufacturer clamouring to make compatible sets (as happens now with iPod speaker docks). For the TV manufacturers, the advantage is they have another feature bullet-point to promote their hardware (TV manufacturers love their bullet-points and overly hyped feature names). For Apple, it means they can stay in the business of selling $100 enabling devices for the iTunes store, rather than selling heavy, bulky TVs with razor thin margins.