It's a storage device. It streams media from computers on your home network. It's a more impressive way to watch iTunes. But will the $299 Apple TV be as successful as its portable cousin?
Maybe.
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As with other Apple products, the Apple TV is a joy to hold and behold. Less than 2.5 pounds and wider than a Mac mini, but only half as high, its silver-rimmed white exterior gives even the Lacie Porsche external drive an inferiority complex.
The Apple TV's box contents are as minimalist as its design. It comes with remote, a small manual, and a power cord, but no connector cables (it's up to you to know which cables your television accepts). For video, Apple TV supports HDMI, DVI (via an HDMI-to-DVI adapter), and component video. Audio is analog RCA stereo or optical. High-definition resolutions include 720p, 1080i, 480p, and 575p.
Interestingly, there is a USB port on the back of the Apple TV, alongside the media connectors that seems to have no apparent function. According to the manual, this is just for service and diagnostics. Certainly, plugging an external hard drive into this port does nothing at all -- which is a pity as it would solve one of the Apple TV's major shortcomings: the unit's 40-Gbyte hard drive is half the capacity of a video iPod and not nearly enough to store any quantity of high-definition videos.
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