“Apple did something it normally doesn’t do: it talked about a product not yet ready for release. Set to debut in 2007 when it will sell for $299, iTV is a streaming set-top box, conveniently shaped to fit directly under a Mac mini that will stream digital movies and video content to a TV set..
One important question left lingering about iTV was exactly how the device will work. Jobs said it will use some variant of wireless networking known as IEEE 802.11, and Apple already has some history with this technology. It was early to deliver Wi-Fi networking products under its Airport brand. But Jobs also said that the iTV will support HDTV video content. That implies the device will use a version of Wi-Fi that is faster and more advanced than the prevailing standard (802.11g), which tops out at data transmission speeds of 54 megabits per second (Mbps).The next iteration of that technology, 802.11n, will boost the data speed to above 200 Mbps, and perhaps as high as 540 Mbps. That would be fast enough to support a high-definition stream, but it isn’t expected to be approved until 2008″.
Apple’s Latest Fruits
