• Los Angeles Times , Tuesday, June 1, 2010 10:21 PM

A battle is brewing between Apple Inc. and Google Inc., and this time it may come into your living room. Nearly 40% of consumers said they wanted to connect their computers to their televisions to watch online video, according to a recent survey by Frank N. Magid Associates.  One week after Google announced its bid for the hearts and eyes of America's TV viewers with Internet-based Google TV, its Silicon Valley rival is reportedly poised to overhaul its own offering, Apple TV, reports Los Angeles Times.

The stakes are high. Whoever wins could play a leading role in one of the great technological transformations of recent memory by piping limitless video and other content from the Internet and television to the small screen. Americans spend several hours a day in front of their televisions, creating what some analysts estimate to be a $150-billion advertising market.

Apple TV will focus all of its attention on cloud-based storage, reports the Miami New Times, with an option to use a Time Capsule as an external storage component, though the gadget's main task will be all about streaming. The new Apple TV will no longer have its current OS-X lite operating system, and will run through an almost exact replica of the iPhone OS model.  And of course, it's kind of a given that you'll also be able to stream Netflix, music, and then some. But we're not about stating the obvious, here. This platform seems the ideal choice for game enthusiasts.  So the real question: Will Apps and the App store join in on all of the fun and turn the Apple TV into an ultimate gaming platform?

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