I seem to have 'epiphanies' lately every morning about Apple and its strategies.. Which mostly means i'm thinking way too much about Apple in my subconscious, but this one was interesting: FaceTime devices.
Steve Jobs definitely said FaceTime devices. While most 'FaceTime' devices were predictable, iPhones, iPods, and iPads [some people have said the iPad's usage angle is off for a front-facing camera, i'd disagree, it's just the front-facing camera only makes sense in the same angle that you would watch video on an iPad, so it could definitely work, like when it's sitting in it's dock, or propped up in landscape with its case.]
Yet everyone's talking about how Apple should be revisiting AppleTV any time now, and FaceTime for your AppleTV is a true killer app. Yeah, I know there are two problems with the idea: 1) It's straight out of 1984, having your TV able to watch you. and 2) Do you really want to broadcast yourself strewn out on your couch?
On the other hand, I know in my parents house they've got a 20inch PC on the wall in the kitchen with Skype Video and a webcam built in.When we video chat people come and stand by the computer, when they use it to watch something, people lounge around the kitchen table. [This is a great set up for us, since we live ~7000 miles away and can still be part of the family all hanging out in the kitchen.] So it might not be such a weird generalized use-case. When you're TVing with AppleTV you lounge, when you're FaceTiming, you move closer.
In short, I think there's a good case for AppleTV out in time for the holidays with built-in FaceTime.
If this version of AppleTV will in fact be iOS based, and it's fairly safe to imagine it will be, and if they allow for 3rd party apps, the TV can be redefined to be the central place to keep tabs on the family, even when they're out of the house, between GPS (in family member's iphones/ipads) and FaceTime. For a modern reference think the Weasley family's clock.
Update: @gruber agrees on the FaceTime for AppleTV possibility. (and i preempted his post on the topic by like 12 hours :)
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