Calacanis: Apple to release networked HDTVs

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours here at the office with Valleywag's most cherished and adored tech celebrity, Jason Calacanis. Love him or hate him, the bloke's got contacts, and he confirmed to me that he knew first-hand that Apple was working on a networked television.

These LCD HDTVs will be fully networked, with the ability to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC. In fact, Calacanis told me they'll function like a standard TV with an Apple TV box, only without the need for the box.

In many ways, this isn't surprising news, as Apple already produces a stunning 30-inch display for the Mac. So picture that -- only thinner -- in a bedroom, streaming iTunes movie rentals over 802.11n, controlled with the Remote app on an iPod touch or iPhone.

Apple has really gone to town with the iTunes Store, securing movie downloads, rentals and a massive archive of TV shows, new and old. Why would it sit back while movie fans go out and buy some generic HDTV to connect up to their PC to watch this content, when it already has the means to provide a complete package itself?

TVs are a huge market. What better way to extend the iTunes Store than by providing an elegant TV that seamlessly integrates with its movie and TV offerings? Apple Computer Inc dropped the 'Computer' for a reason, and I have no reason to doubt that this has been on the roadmap ever since.

Update: You can hear more from Jason Calacanis in an interview on this week's Crave Podcast.

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