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It looks like that new Apple TV that’s supposed to be announced alongside the iPad 3 is a sure thing, since Apple has been holding off on sending its partners fresh inventory of the current Apple TV for the last three weeks.
Earlier this month, the Apple TV was out of stock on Best Buy’s website, and now, Apple’s partners and channel members have reported that Apple has been pushing back its deliveries each consecutive week by an additional week. This is, traditionally, indicative of an imminent product release.
Apple’s current set top box has been hard to find for most of February, even on major reseller sites like Amazon.com, which sparked rumors earlier this month that the company was working on a refresh.
The new Apple TV, codenamed J33, should come equipped with an enhanced processor (perhaps the A5X, which is an upgraded version of the A5 processor in the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S) and support for 1080p content. This is a significant upgrade, since the current Apple TV uses the same A4 processor that’s in the first generation iPad and only supports up to a resolution of 720p.
Apple’s current Apple TV was last updated in late 2010, and given a complete redesign from the original Apple TV. There’s no word on what the new Apple TV will look like, but we don’t have long to wait to find out – Apple’s major announcement will be happening a week from today, on March 7th.