Stephen Wildstrom, who writes the "Technology and You" column in BusinessWeek echoes a point this week ("AppleTV's Blurry Future") about AppleTV that I made back in my 12/06 e-newsletter ("7 Broadband Video Trends for 2007"). At that time I suggested that for Apple's device to be a real winner, it needed to embrace a content strategy that was open to all broadband video, not just limited to what's available in iTunes.

Wildstrom similarly highlights this point. For now, AppleTV is a niche product, appealing only to those consumers ready to spend $300 to get iTunes video to their TVs. The big win for Apple would be to have a box that is easily capable of playing the 99% of video consumed daily that is not available in iTunes. That's what consumers are craving - an easy way of watching broadband video in the comfort of their living rooms. My guess is Apple knows this and will soon offer this feature as well.