Is Apple getting serious with AppleTV?

AppleTV is getting serious, and smaller. In today’s fall event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed the new AppleTV and stunned many with how small it’s really become. A little larger than his palm, the new AppleTV comes with HDMI out, WiFi, Ethernet and is about 75% smaller than it’s predecessor.

Sporting a new remote, the AppleTV is all about streaming movies and TV shows in HD. And users will be able to forgo purchasing content and renting it instead. Cost of first run movies will be $4.99, with the price dropping as the films get older. TV shows are now a third the cost they once were at .99 each and commercial free. Currently, only ABC and Fox have joined the party, but users can also stream Netflix, watch YouTube, and enjoy photos from Flickr.

There’s no syncing, no storage, but users can also stream slideshows movies they already have on their computers and music thanks to it’s Ethernet connection. And in another cool feature, users of the iPad can transfer a movie they’re enjoying directly to the AppleTV to watch in HD on a larger screen thanks to AirPlay (formerly Air Tunes).
And in a HUGE price cut, the AppleTV has gone from $229 to just $99. Available next month.