First, Siri on an Apple TV is possible, maybe likely, but it’s not going to be the only interface. It can’t be. As Neven Mrgan pointed out, how would you flip to a new channel if Siri goes down? What about gaming? You can’t game with your voice — “QUICK! RUN AWAY, ME!”

So here’s what I imagine:

• It’ll be pricey, as with any Apple device, but it’ll be competitive on the high-end. Probably about $1,499 if I had to make my guess.
• It’ll use the traditional Apple Remote. I think they, and everyone else, really likes that. It may get modified or become smarter to do things like increasing the volume, but;
• The real remote comes on your iPhone or iPad. You can use it without, sure, but the magic happens on those devices. Now many have pointed out that you can’t easily control one screen by looking at another. Hand someone an iPad and the first thing they do is look at the iPad screen and not the TV. The current Apple Remote App is fine, but it requires a sort of disjointed brain behavior that’s hard to wrap your mind around. BUT, Apple doesn’t have to do that anymore. They introduced iPad mirroring, didn’t they? You just display whatever’s on the TV on to your iPad. When you’re done, you just put the iPad down and enjoy your show.
• I don’t think Apple’s TV will play nice with the cable providers. It’ll use the Internet-only, which is terrifying, since that’s still the cable company (if that’s not a monopoly, it’s about to be…I bet Apple can and will fight tooth and nail on that front if it comes to pass that Comcast starts throttling data or selectively blocking channels.).
• Since it’ll be Internet-only, I imagine a device that lets me pick shows completely on-demand, a la carte. Want Mad Men? That’ll be 99 cents for an episode or you can buy a season-pass for $9.99. In addition, Apple will no doubt become a subscription handler, allowing you to pay $19.99 a month or about $240 a year on an “all you can watch” model, like Netflix, so you can get TV and some movies. Movies not part of the subscription plan can still be rented for $1.99 or .99 cents. They may well do away with the TV episode subscriptions all together in favor of this.
• I have to assume the folks at Apple see Netflix floundering wildly. I have to suspect Eddie Cue wants to eat them for breakfast, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they terminate their Netflix deals and go straight into their own business of selling those monthly subscriptions for access. Or, more likely, a yearly subscription so you can pay it once and forget it. Seems less like “a bill” when you do that. They’ve done that with MobileMe and now iTunes Match, so that would be consistent.
• Sports packages have to get thrown in if Apple can pull it off, otherwise it’s not useful for a lot of people.
• I bet HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, etc. can’t wait. This fits with the model they’ve been touting for years.

Apple’s devices are all about content, so there’s no reason why we have to keep falling all over ourselves trying to figure out what amazing new input method they’re going to think up. I bet it’s mostly remote control, with a little voice-control if you want to use it, just like your iPhone.

It’ll be a really pretty device, maybe with a few neat things like built-in WiFi and Bluetooth (for iPhone controllers for games?) and iCloud access. But the really good parts come from easy software and access to all the best content.

I’ve been using my iPad this evening, sitting on the couch and surfing the web, playing Sim City, watching YouTube videos and managing email for almost 90 minutes and I didn’t even know that much time had passed.

The Kindle and iBooks apps are great, too. I’ve used both to read more books in the last few weeks than I have read in the last few months. Plus, it appears that Amazon has slashed some Kindle eBooks to just mere dollars. I’ve been snatching up all kinds of books for $2 or $3. Even a cheapskate like me can pay that. It beats going to the library, only because it’s so easy. I wish digital libraries existed so we could all share great books.

It’s a really neat device and well worth the money. And the now poorly-named iPhone OS 4 is really going to make this a dream to use.

In a sign that Amazon wants to upgrade its Kindle e-reader to compete head-on with the Apple iPad, Amazon has acquired Touchco, a New York-based start-up specializing in touch-screen technology, a person briefed on the deal said Wednesday.

Amazon will merge Touchco’s technology and staff into its Kindle hardware division, Lab126, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., this person said.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

I wasn’t thrilled watching the keynote until I saw the price of $499. That’s very un-Apple and I’m glad they’ve finally started to understand how most Americans shop. I’m really tired of seeing crappy software and hardware from PC makers and being asked, “Which netbook do you recommend?” by friends because my answer is always, unequivocally, “None of them.”

However, the iPad isn’t for anyone like you or me. It’s meant for your non-techy sister or your partially inept uncle. The thing doesn’t fill a void in a tech person’s life. Already having an iMac, MacBook Air and an iPhone, this thing fits in my life like a bastard child.

I keep waffling on whether I’d buy it. Earlier I was no, then yes, now I’m back at “no”. I think Apple is looking to build something for mom and dad and something for cheap people to buy into to get them more interested in the iPhone and other Apple products. It’s a halo-device if nothing else.

The killer here is that it can’t multitask, aside from, I guess, the iPod software. But, if I’m doing a Keynote or working in Pages, which are without a doubt neat, I’m going to need to do some research online. And if that thing is as fast as everyone is saying it is, then I don’t get why they don’t enable multitasking.

I have a feeling that Apple is up to something. If they’ve got that fast new processor in the iPad, it’s only a few months away from getting crammed into an iPod and iPhone, then you’d better lookout. Part of me wonders if, maybe, JUST MAYBE, they want to save some sizzle for a pending iPhone 4.0 and if they spill too much on the iPad, it’ll give the competition (i.e., Google, Sony, RIM, etc.) time to prepare.

My prediction and advice: hold off on buying this thing until June/July when they announce the new iPhone as they always do. There, they’ll have new software, new hardware, and I bet new software for the iPad. The guy from Brushes mentioned the iPad uses iPhone OS 3.2. Clearly, there’s room to upgrade this summer to iPhone OS 4.0.