Cable is indeed losing subscribers, but it's happening very slowly. According to the latest data from Nielsen, the number of U.S. homes with cable subscriptions has declined 4.1% in the last year. Meanwhile, TV service provided by telephone companies like Verizon increased 21.1%.

Nielsen reports considerable growth in the sector of consumers who watch a combination of Web-based and non-cable broadcast television. This is the crowd that Boxee hopes to target with its live TV antennae dongle. They watch half as much TV and stream twice as much online video as the general population.

It's a group that has grown quickly, but still makes up only 5% of consumers. By comparison, nearly 71% of households subscribe to both broadband and cable television. Cable's penetration rate alone is more than 90%. In short, it's not going away anytime soon.

The cable industry faces real, longer-term threats from the likes of Netflix, Hulu and increasingly, Amazon Prime, as well as from set-top boxes and connected TVs. Trends in technology, coupled with the high prices of cable subscriptions, are slowly making cable less attractive to consumers Realizing this, the cable companies have put a renewed focused on innovating for a hyper-connected, multi-screened future.

TV content - wherever it may originate - still takes up an extraordinary amount of our lives. On average, Americans watch 33 hours of television per week. Television has long dominated the media diets of consumers, but what's changing is when and how they access it.

We've compared Showyou's previous versions to Flipboard and Instapaper, which is pretty esteemed company for an iOS app. As a set of features, those comparisons are apt. But the interface takes it a step further. The app takes full advantage of the touchscreen. It's a better interface than TV has ever had. And you don't just watch on your device; you can AirPlay it to your Apple TV and just use Showyou as the remote. Whatever it was about TV that Steve Jobs said he "finally cracked," it was probably something like this.

Showyou has this figured out in so many ways. No other app has this grid interface, for one thing. The main screen of all your videos flows under your fingers like Microsoft's Surface or something out of Minority Report, except this is something you can have right now.

When you go further in to the app, whether you're browsing a category or a friend's videos, the interface is reined in a little, going to a simpler, scrolling column. The new navigation drawer helps you get reoriented quickly and easily.

The sources of the videos in Showyou are your friends and the people you follow. It connects to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Vimeo and Vodpod, which is a video curation site by Remixation, the company that makes Showyou. There are also some publisher channels, like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, TED and more. The main grid shows videos from all the sources you're following, and you can narrow down by source, by topic or hashtag, or by the person sharing. It even has pretty fast search using all that social metadata, with an index of nearly 30 million videos so far.

Showyou is free, and it will become ad-supported as it grows. It's also considering a subscription service for certain shows or publishers. The big question is whether Showyou will get licenses for major TV shows or movies. "Not yet," its people say. "Maybe soon." But YouTube viewing is eclipsing TV, anyway. For iPad or Kindle Fire owners, or even for iPhone and iPod Touch, Showyou should be in your living room.

Well, that's what exactly two hackers were envisioning when they came up with MobileX, a modification that jailbreaks the Apple TV via the Seas0nPass hack and lets users run full-screen iOS apps on the set-top box. The hack involves rewriting the Springboard iOS app launcher.

While the MobileX hack may not be something every Apple TV owner is going to have the stomach to tinker with, it may provide at least a partial glimpse into what Apple plans to do on television sets. Very little is confirmed, but rumors that began circulating a few years ago about an Apple-branded HDTV were all but verified by Steve Jobs himself in the late cofounder's recent biography.

Apple's TV initiative is expected to go from hobby to big deal in 2012, with two different sizes rumored to be launching. In terms of its physical design, a sleek, clean form factor is a sure bet. But what about what appears on the screen? Apple is rumored to be working out content partnerships and the device will almost certainly hook into traditional cable subscriptions as well.

How Would iOS and Apps Work on a TV Screen?

In terms of its software and operating system, a big-screen version of iOS and its App Store may well be in the works, which will enable viewers to run media apps from everyone from Netflix and Hulu Plus to NBC and HBO Go, not to mention social networks and possibly even games.

Of course, porting apps from iPhone and iPad to iTV will be even more of a dramatic shift than it was porting apps from iPhone to iPad. Since the device won't be portable, that eliminates a whole breed of potential apps for it. For example, it's conceivable that Apple's TV will come with a built-in Web cam, but don't expect it to be very useful for Instagramming. Games and other apps that use the accelerometer will also need to be re-imagined or scrapped all together.

If a television-focused app marketplace is indeed part of the new offering, it won't be the only feature worth touting. Recent rumors have included a built-in DVR, iCloud support and Siri-style voice control.

At this point, there's little more than speculation and rumors to go on. It's more or less certain that Apple will be launching some kind of TV-related offering later this year, but exactly how they'll tackle it - how they "cracked it," as Jobs put it - remains to be seen.

So what does this mean for future of television advertising? That piece of the puzzle is still emerging, but marketers aren't wasting any time figuring it out. Today marks the launch of the Connected TV Marketing Association, a trade group focused on digital advertising on Internet-enabled television sets and devices.

About 350 million connected TVs will be on the market by 2014 and the players making up the CTVMA aren't taking that prediction lightly. They've seen the digital disruption that's already occurred in areas like the music industry, newspapers, magazines and other formerly one-way channels of mass communication, and they're not about to let the TV world be taken by storm without ensuring they can still profit from the medium.

The big challenge for marketers moving forward is weathering the transition from traditional broadcast and cable to Internet-connected television while still effectively monetizing both. This is something that has not played out especially well for print publishers, who have seen their print revenues decline more quickly than digital rates have risen.

The founding of the CTVMA is of obvious interest to those in the marketing and advertising industries, but it also says something bigger about the impending growth of connected TVs and how the Web is merging with broadcast. That process is only now in its infancy, with big changes expected by all over the next few years.

To date, set-top boxes like the Boxee Box and those powered by Google TV haven't quite flown off the shelves, but the trend is inescapable: people are streaming more content from sources like Netflix and Hulu rather than viewing it from broadcast or cable, the latter of which is slowly starting to lose customers. Even if their TV sets aren't connected to the Internet yet, their tablets and smartphones are, and they're increasingly staring at them while the TV is on.

The organization was founded by James Grant Hay and Zachary Weiner, both of whom have backgrounds in digital marketing and the emerging field of social TV.

The Live TV stick, as they're calling it, is simply a way to build a bridge between your Boxee Box and an HD antenna (sold separately), which of course can pick up all the basic local channels in HD for free. This allows viewers to enjoy their Web-based streaming content and jump over to live TV broadcasts without fiddling with different inputs on their TV sets.

Boxee is very deliberately marketing this move by framing it as a call-to-arms against cable companies and their high-priced subscriptions. As Boxee CEO Avner Ronen points out, nearly 90% of the most-watched shows from last year were broadcast on networks like NBC, Fox, CBS and ABC. For the few popular shows that are only available on cable, Ronen argues, consumers are paying way too much.

Is the Live TV stick enough to make the Boxee Box palatable for mainstream consumers? It certainly makes it a more attractive option, but it probably won't kill the cable subscription anytime soon. Sports fanatics, for instance, will probably stick with the myriad viewing options cable offers them.

Plus, there's still a bunch of content that isn't readily available outside the cable box. Take HBO. The premium channel offers a way to watch online, and it even works on set top boxes like Boxee's. But in order to use HBO Go, one needs to subscribe to a cable or satellite provider.

It's worth noting that Google TV set-top boxes support live TV viewing as well, and the first generation of those devices haven't exactly flown off the shelves.

Consumers Are Moving Away From Cable, But Slowly

Still, the number of U.S. cable subscribers has begun to slowly erode, and that trend is expected to continue. Part of the reason may be a tight economy, but as Ronen points out, it's also because viewer's habits and expectations have changed significantly, thanks in large part to services like Hulu, Netflix, Vudu and YouTube. No longer can many consumers justify paying as much as $100 per month for a selection of content in which they're mostly disinterested.

So, things are certainly moving toward a world in which bloated cable packages are less of a must-have for consumers, and the Web offers an increasingly viable alternative, perhaps coupled with broadcast content and maybe even basic cable. We'll see what Apple has to offer in this space, probably next year. If their track record with tablets, smartphones and MP3 players is any indication, Apple could turn television on its head, depending on how they disruptive they are in designing and marketing the product.

For a certain segment of consumers, solutions like Boxee are a great fit, and upgrades like this only make them more attractive. It may not wreck the cable business overnight, but we suspect that as long as the set-top box and smart TV manufacturers keep innovating and making the cord easier to cut, the cable TV business as we know it won't be around forever.

In the official biography of the late Apple founder that came out today, one of the last topics discussed before Isaacson touches on Jobs' summer 2011 resignation is how he had hoped to revolutionize the television set.

Apple is believed to already be building prototypes of such a television set, according to an analyst at Piper Jaffray. The TV is expected to hit the market sometimes next year, although probably a bit later than previous estimates.

The idea that an Apple-branded HDTV set is in the product pipeline has been the subject of rumors for a few years. Apple patents and sources at some of the company's suppliers have fueled speculation since at least 2008. In August, one Wall Street Analyst predicted that three Apple HDTVs would be on the market as soon as March 2012.

Trends Already Underway: Social TV and Second Screen Apps

An Internet-connected television set that syncs across devices is an idea that would fit quite nicely with some trends that are already underway. With or without Apple's help, consumers are supplementing the television-watching experience by discussing episodes via Twitter and Facebook, browsing the Web and even checking into TV shows.

To an increasing extent, they are doing all of this from their smartphones and tablets, a huge number of which happen to be iPhones and iPads. The growing trend of second screen apps is one we've been watching closely this year. Apple already enjoys huge success in the markets for second and even third screens. Why not take on the first screen next?

Early adopters and cord cutters are enamored with Web-connected set top boxes like Roku, Boxee Box and Apple's own "hobby" product, the Apple TV. Yet even as cable subscriptions have started to drop, these types of Internet-only options have yet to take off in a big way among consumers. That's where Internet-connected television sets come into play, offering both Web content and live TV content in one interface. There are already a number of such TVs on the market. If anybody can take this existing concept, slap an amazing UI on it and end up popularizing it, it's Apple.

Siri: Coming to a TV Near You?

For hints about what an Apple-branded TV set might include, look no further than Apple's last few releases. That it will run some flavor of iOS is a given. Jobs himself said that it would integrate with iCloud, as the Apple TV set-top box already does.

If the positive, albeit very early response to Siri is any indication, voice-controlled computing appears to working for Apple. One can imagine Siri-style voice commands being included in an iOS-powered television set. "I want to watch X-Men: First Class," you might say as you sit down on the couch with a bag of popcorn.

If the movie isn't available via your pay TV service at the moment, your TV could fire up Netflix and start streaming. Knowing Apple, the television's UI probably wouldn't be shy about nudging consumers to buy content from the iTunes Store.

A hand-held remote control is still ideal for browsing through content selections and apps on a big screen, but searching can be more cumbersome. Even the most well-designed tools for searching Web content on a TV set (Boxee's remote control comes to mind) could have less friction. For certain things, voice control could be the way to go.

The project to produce a TV set running Boxee, which was due out before the end of the year, was cut short by Viewsonic. The company cited high costs of production and underwhelming consumer interest in Internet-connected TV's, according to GigaOm's New Tee Vee blog.

The Logictech Revue and Boxee were both originally priced considerably higher than the $99 Apple TV, which has sold relatively well on Amazon, despite only being what Steve Jobs famously referred to as a "hobby" for the company.

Will Apple's HDTV Increase Demand For Smart TVs?

Apple TV may not be a top priority at the moment, but the company may be playing a more prominent role in our living rooms soon. Apple has long been rumored to be produced a smart HDTV set of its own, which may be on the market as soon as March 2012.

If Apple's impact on the markets for smartphones and tablets is any indication, an Apple-branded HDTV may serve to popularize connected TVs in a way that Boxee and Google TV have failed to thus far.

Few doubt that the future of the living room will be Web-connected, socially-engaged and interactive. In fact, this picture is already coming into focus thanks to mobile technology, social networking and the rise of "second screen" apps. What remains to be seen is how the connected TV market will shake out, and whether Apple will play a significant role in its development.

For its part, Boxee is still putting out set-top boxes. In addition to its D-Link-manufactured Boxee Box, the company has also partnered with Iomega, who will produce a Boxee-powered box with built-in storage of up to 2 TB.

Business Insider is reporting rumors from an analyst at research firm Jefferies that Apple has secret licensing deals in place to launch a video streaming service. Jefferies's Peter Misek reportedly said "...we believe Apple has unannounced deals with all/most of the studios/TV networks." If Misek is correct, Apple's play in the space is either a prelude to a deal with the networks for Hulu or a sign Apple was never really interested in the streaming service in the first place, planning all along to create its own streaming product perhaps to coincide with the release of iCloud. Either way, any premium streaming service from Apple will have huge ripple affects across the industry.

If Apple has deals with the networks and studios then the vetting process for buyers of Hulu should accelerate. If Apple or Amazon are not going to buy Hulu (based on their own streaming services and content licenses over the last month) then Google and Microsoft have to seriously consider their roles in the content ecosystem. Google has some premium content available to be viewed through the Android Market and YouTube, but there is no real premium-streaming product it can sell ads against. Microsoft has next to nothing in the premium content department outside of its Xbox streaming partnership with Netflix and Hulu.

If Apple does introduce a streaming service with the release of iCloud in the fall, the company can make a strong case that there is no reason not to buy an Apple TV box (or an actual "iTV, if such a thing ever exists). As we wrote the other day, Apple wants to take over your living room and there is consumer hunger for a true Internet TV, especially one that is emitted from Cupertino. Apple has $76 billion dollars to truly disrupt the television business, which used to be the networks' biggest fear. Yet, with lucrative streaming licenses now being sold (or at least pitched) to every big tech company, the cable box and television as it has been known for the last 20 years may finally become a thing of the past. It just took a bit of Apple to push it over the hill.

The Apple TV has been around for years and analysts have been predicting Apple's takeover of the living room for just as long, but a few recent developments suggest a more serious foray is imminent.

With this shift, episodes needn't be stored locally in order to be watched on the Apple TV. The move gives users an early taste of what the company intends to roll out in the fall with iCloud, which will sync content, contacts and calendars across Apple devices.

Meanwhile, the Apple rumor mill continues to buzz about the company's alleged plans to release its own Web-connected HDTV sets, with Apple Insider reporting that three models may be on the market by March 2012. Wall Street analyst Trip Chowdry gave renewed credence to the years-old rumor with a note to investors that suggested that the high-definition television sets will be available next year at three different price points. If true, this is another sign that Apple no longer views its presence on television sets as "a hobby" (as Steve Jobs once said about Apple TV) but as a significant new frontier for its business.

In a sense, Apple's conquest of the living room has already begun, with or without set top boxes or television sets. Consumers are increasingly using tablets and smartphones to supplement the television-watching experience, whether to tweet about it or to research actors and references made in a given episode. As our own Richard MacManus noted in his recent post on second screen apps, 86% of mobile Web users access the Internet via their mobile devices while they're watching television, according to Yahoo.

Now, in addition to the second (and sometimes third) screen devices Apple is making so much money selling, the company appears to be moving to dominate the first screen too. In doing so, they may actually end up liberating content from the living room, thanks to the ease with which users will be able to "content shift" from one device to another, a trend that is already well underway.

AirSync is a paid extension to the free doubleTwist service that can be used to sync iTunes through a Mac or PC to your Android. The newest wrinkle is "Twist To" that streams media to an AirPlay connected device and turns phone into a remote control, according to the Digits blog at the Wall Street Journal.

AirSync also allows users' photos, videos and music to the phone from Mac or PC over WiFi.

The Digits blog says that the doubleTwist upgrade also has a feature where users can share a song or video with another user by tapping Android phones together. Kind of like Bump but with media. The tap will create a connection between the devices and media will be transferred over WiFi. So much for borrowing a CD from your friend and burning it to your computer. Now, when you ask a friend "what are you listening to?" they can just tap your phone and you will have it as well.

That is a lot of power packed into one a couple applications using the doubleTwist service. The doubleTwist desktop and mobile app is available for free while AirSync runs for $4.99 in the Android Market.

But why would you want to jailbreak your Apple TV? How about access to streaming music from Last.fm, an HDTV-optimized Web browser, RSS feeds, weather forecasts, Twitter, additional support for video file formats and more?

Why Jailbreak Apple TV?

For those new to Apple TV jailbreaking, there's a software suite from fireCore that may tempt you over to the dark side. The package known as "aTV Flash," available for both the older and the newest generation of Apple TV products, includes a Web browser designed for HDTVs (Couch Surfer Pro), access to weather forecasts, Last.fm, and RSS feeds - the latter two provided by Apple TVs first jailbroken app NitoTV. Also included in the bundle is media center app XBMC.

With NitoTV, you can create playlists and play additional media file formats via your AppleTV beyond those supported by Apple. On newer Apple TV devices (the smaller, black units), this list now includes support for .m4v, .mp4, .move, HE-AAC, AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV, with more on the way.

Older Apple TV devices can play even more formats: .avi, .divx, .eyetv, .flv, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .mpg, .ogg, .ogm, .rm, .rmvb, .wmv, .xvid, VIDEO_TS/VOB, ISO, AAC, AC3, DTS, FLAC, MPEG3, MPEG4, VBR MP3, WMA, SSA and SRT.

Meanwhile, with the Web browser provided by Couch Surfer Pro, you can access Google search on your Apple TV, save bookmarks, view your browser history and even use your Apple Remote, USB mouse or Loop pointer to navigate the Web.

aTV Flash for older Apple TV units also includes additional software programs in the bundle, like Keyboard Magic, AirControl, XBMC, Boxee, Sapphire and others.

The process for jailbreaking your Apple TV with Ses0npass is documented in detail here. Although those instructions still assume a tethered jailbreak, the overall process is similar.

But now, members of the hacking group known as the Chronic Dev Team have released a new jailbreaking tool called greenpois0n, which delivers, at long last, the highly anticipated "untethered" jailbreak.

The term does not, however, mean the same thing as "unlocking" - that refers to hacking a phone so it will run on another carrier's network - for example, getting the AT&T iPhone to run on T-Mobile's network. An unlocked phone must be jailbroken first, but a jailbroken phone does not need to be unlocked.

The Original 4.2.1 Jailbreak Tool: Redsn0w

The first group to jailbreak the newest iPhone operating system was the iPhone Dev Team, who released a tool called redsn0w. The software would work on both Mac and Windows machines, but as noted above, it required the phone to be tethered to a computer every time it rebooted.

We documented the procedures here in November with a warning that, frankly, this one should probably be skipped. It's a huge pain to be tethered, we said, especially on an iPhone.

The New, Untethered Jailbreak: Greenpois0n

The new jailbreak - aka "greenpois0n" - now allows you to jailbreak your device without the tethering requirement afterwards. Unfortunately, it's only for Mac users for now. From the website, it appears that both Windows and Linux versions are under development.

Greenpois0n does not support those who want to unlock their iPhones. The jailbreak does, however, support iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, the iPad, iPod Touch 2G/3G/4G and even Apple TV (second generation).

How to Use Greenpois0n

To get started using this jailbreak, the following are the recommended procedures. A word of warning: some of the first to attempt this jailbreak are reporting issues and some are even saying that the jailbreak doesn't work. For others, it's taking a few times before the process works as designed. Others still say they don't have any issues at all. In other words, proceed at your own risk!

If you're feeling daring, then do the following:

1. Backup your device and restore it to iOS version 4.2.1, setting it up as a new device within iTunes.
2. Plug in your device to your computer and turn the device off.
3. Download and run greenpois0n on your computer. The onscreen instructions will guide you as to how to get into DFU mode on the device, which involves a series of button presses (press and hold sleep, press home, release sleep, continue holding home).

   

4. When your phone or other device enters into DFU mode, the jailbreaking process will begin.
5. When the process completes, you'll have a new "Loader" icon on your homescreen. (Apple TV jailbreakers, of course, will not. They will need to use Terminal and SSH instead).

   

6. Tap the icon to install Cydia, the jailbreak app store.

Note that, at the time of writing, both the greenpois0n website and Cydia's servers are experiencing high traffic loads and are intermittently up and down. Your best bet: wait a couple of days for the fervor to die down, then try again.

This past week, the jailbreaking community hacked their way into Google TV, combining a hardware hack with a lengthy software hack to finally root the device. The jailbreak came months after Google TV and the Logitech Revue device hit the market. Apple TV, on the other hand, was jailbroken just days after release.

Still, the jailbreak was a bit complicated for the average consumer. Now, a new tool called Seas0nPass has stepped in to make jailbreaking your 2G Apple TV as simple as installing an app on your computer.

Lifehacker describes the steps:

Just like any other iOS device, you put it into DFU mode (in the case of the Apple TV, this is done by holding the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE buttons down for seven seconds) and restore the device and restore using the created IPSW. What's especially nice about Seas0nPass, however, is that it will pretty much automate most of this process for you. It'll even download the latest IPSW it needs to patch so you don't have to find it yourself or worry about grabbing the wrong version.

Once you've successfully completed the jailbreak, you just need boot tethered and you're done! So what can you do with a jailbroken Apple TV? You can install Plex and incomplete-but-functional versions of Last.fm and a web browser called Couch Surfer.

As PCWorld noted when the Apple TV was first jailbroken, "the real delight will come in the weeks and months ahead, as hackers and developers start figuring out what to do with Apple's liberated set-top box." We discussed a similar idea the other day when we looked at the Google TV jailbreak, noting that innovation occurs with developers. Making a jailbreak simpler means it will become more mainstream. What do you expect to see available on your Apple TV? And if you've jailbroken already, what are your favorite apps?

For full instructions, downloads and caveats, check out this page.

In this post we review the Internet TV market over 2010 and highlight the big stories of the year.

When it comes to Internet-connected consumer electronics, Apple dominates several key markets already: music (iPod), smartphone (iPhone) and tablet (iPad). However its Internet TV product, Apple TV, has been much less successful... so far. In an attempt to change that, in September Apple announced a re-designed Apple TV.

The new Apple TV has a lower price (now $99, compared to $229 for the first generation product), streamlined form (80% smaller), streaming functionality, no more local storage, Netflix and YouTube access, and 99c TV show rentals. It remains to be seen if the new version of Apple TV brings as much success to Apple as its other consumer devices.

It's a competitive field in the set-top boxes market, so Apple will have its work cut out in 2011. Boxee and Roku are two startups in this field worth keeping an eye on.

Google TV

In May, Google announced a new Internet TV product called Google TV. The most interesting aspect of the announcement was the developer ecosystem that Google introduced to television. Google TV will not just allow you to view television programs and online video content, it'll also give you access to Internet TV applications built using Google's mobile operating system Android.

Google is positioning itself as an Internet TV platform, rather than offering a hardware component like Apple TV and Microsoft Mediaroom. On the hardware side, Google partnered with electronics giant Sony. This quote from the Google Blog in May is key to understanding what Google is aiming for: "your TV becomes more than a TV -- it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more."

Internet TV Web Apps: Clicker

Google TV and other similar platforms will foster an ecosystem of Internet TV apps, similar to what's occurred with smart phones over the past few years (albeit on a lesser scale). An app that may be a sign of what's to come is Clicker. Billed as a "TV Guide for the Internet" when it launched in November 2009, Clicker is essentially a browser-based portal for your TV. It enables you to search for online TV programs, subscribe to them, watch them inside the site, and more.

In September, ReadWriteWeb spoke to Clicker co-founder and CEO Jim Lanzone. He told us that Clicker's goal is to build "the ultimate programming guide for the next generation of TV, which is about navigation and discovery." He added that "it's not just finding TV shows, it's also how you decide what to watch."

Alternatives to Cable TV

Which brings us to the all important content. Television has always been about consuming content and 2010 was another step forward for services that provide online TV content. Hulu has been the most high profile of these services, due to its ties to the U.S. TV networks. In November, Hulu lowered the price for its premium service "Hulu Plus," in an effort to attract more users. Previously, Hulu Plus was $9.99 per month, but in November it dropped to $7.99 per month.

Hulu Plus is also available on set-top boxes such as Roku.

Overall, 2010 has been a year of much progress in online TV. Of course, in the U.S. the main television networks still rely mostly on 'offline' TV for their revenues. And consumers by and large still watch popular shows like Mad Men through cables piped to their television sets. But if 2010 is any indication, the Internet has well and truly arrived as the future of TV.

Let us know your thoughts on Internet TV in 2010 - do you watch much television online?

One startup, called Snapstick, is introducing a solution that is device and screen agnostic, meaning whatever content you wish, from whatever device, brought straight to the big screen in your living room.

The idea is that Snapstick exists as a software that can power not only these devices, but any device that is Wi-Fi capable and connected to your TV via an HDMI connection - this means Google TV, Apple TV, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles and more.

Let's look at a simple use case: You're sitting around the living room with a couple of friends and you want to show them a YouTube video. You have your phone in your pocket, so you pull up the video on your phone, but now, instead of trying to all huddle around a tiny phone screen, you "snap" the video to your TV. The video plays on the TV and, in the meantime, if you get a phone call, want to keep browsing on  your phone, or just put your phone away, the video continues on the TV.

What makes Snapstick especially interesting is that it can do this same exact thing for the entire Internet. You can move your Skype video chat over to the TV or you can use the TV as a screencasting tool for a presentation, showing exactly what you're seeing on your laptop's monitor. Given the proper authorization, you can even "snap" content over to a friend's TV remotely, meaning you can share from afar. And if you'd like, you can even authorize multiple sources to control the same TV.

In speaking with Snapstick's founders, they noted how their product brings the interface we're used to - our phone, laptop, desktop or tablet - to the TV. Most Internet TV systems make use of a 10-foot user interface, which employs various display, design and navigational elements. With Snapstick, you don't have to learn anything new.

For now, Snapstick is launching in private beta and is in talks with various hardware makers, from TV to networking devices to gaming consoles. They hope to have something consumer ready by the second quarter of 2011 and I can tell you that I, for one, will be one of those interested consumers. If you are interested in seeing more, Snapstick will be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.