Suffice it to say that up to now, AppleTV hasn’t fared too well. The first iteration was crap (compared to the more recent version), and even then, the more recent version, while ironing out some kinks, has largely been pretty middle-of-the-road on its own. So what of Steve’s favourite ‘hobby’ now?

According to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Apple’s not done yet, and have begun work on a smart TV prototype that, as with the iPad to computing, could create quite a stir in the industry. Huberty speculates that such a device could roll “TV/Video content, gaming, DVR, as well as other features like apps and FaceTime into one product”. Huberty believes that a real grapple with the TV market could earn Apple an estimated extra $4 billion a year for every 1% of the market they command. And given Apple’s recent history with commanding markets (iPhone, anyone?), a well-developed smart TV could command hella %.

Of course, all this is just a rumour, but with Jobs behind the wheel, it’s generally more a question of ‘when’ than ‘if’.