Disclaimer: This is SO a rumor, but the rumors have been circulating for-e-vah, so, lets dip our toes in the speculation pond!

The current dimensions of the rumor are: An iPhone 4 hardware-based (A4 CPU, 16GB of flash storage) device, running an incarnation of Apple’s iOS software, with applications in the iPhone/iPad metaphor, and (in the time-honoured Apple tradition) tied into an iTunes-type service, so that users can stream/rent/buy movies and other content. Named? The iTV.

Sounds good? Yes, except… The ugly downside of rumors, is that they’re just that. Rumors, and as such, all kinds of unkind folks are free to add their speculation to the pile. And that’s whats happening with this one. APPARENTLY the A4 processor can’t quite handle 1080p or 1080i playback. And so, the iTV will be limited to 720p HD output. Really? Not sure whether to take this part of the rumor seriously, though. After all, even the iPhone 3GS can play back full HD video, no?

And, what’s with that name? We’ve been round this bush once before. When the Apple TV was originally announced, it was called iTV. It didn’t take long for that tiny little British TV network to cough politely and say, “I say, old chap…”, and I can’t belive they’d just turn a blind eye this time. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see…