Apple is a company constantly shrouded in mystery, and thus, speculation. For a great deal of time, it has been said that the Cupertino would be looking to expand upon the Apple TV set-top box with a more grandiose delve into the television market, but while many an analyst has stepped forward and suggested that this will be the case, the little black box famously coined as a “hobby” by Tim Cook remains the iPad maker’s sole contribution.

We should all know by now that the rumor mill which surrounds Apple and its products will never stop. As soon as a product is launched, the speculation regarding its replacement begins and continues for the next twelve months until we actually see the launch happening in front of us. One of the latest and most persistent rumors surrounds Apple’s intention to release a branded physical television set which some have dubbed the ‘iTV’.

Running out of patience with the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 rumors? Well, then you have come to the right place, as today has brought about some new speculative chatter, this time pertaining to the capabilities of the expected Apple TV set. In the last ten years, Apple has been on a rampage with the sole mission of revolutionizing and improving the music, mobile and portable device industries and it would take a braver man than me to say they have succeeded in doing so, and then some.

It was only a matter of time until rumors relating to the iPhone 5 started, after all, we have had the iPhone 4S now for nearly three months. Speculation has been rife recently about the potential features and specification of the proposed iPad 3, set to be launch toward to end of the first quarter of 2012.

General media outlet USA Today has offered teensy bit more information on just what can be expected from Apple’s purported – but as yet unconfirmed – connected TV offering.

If sources close to the company are to be believed, then New York will soon be the welcoming the fruit company in with open arms, playing host to what is reported to be a small scale media event. Moving away from their usual home in Cupertino and San Francisco, sources close to the alleged event claim that the company will invade the Big Apple toward the end of the month in order to host an event centered around a media related announcement.

Right. Before we go any further, please follow along as we have a collective rant about ‘people familiar with the matter’ and other such madness.

We’ve heard Apple’s next venture into a new product would be into the TV market. Steve Jobs said he finally cracked whatever was holding the company back from diving in. That’s really as much as we know so far. It doesn’t mean we can’t speculate, though.

The Apple TV has been always considered a hobby by Apple. With the release of Steve Job’s biography, it turns out it was a step into a much larger picture. Whatever issue was preventing the television set from becoming a reality was solved, or in Steve’s words, “finally cracked”. The rumors all seem to point that an iTV is in the works with internal Apple TV software.

The rumors of Apple manufacturing their very own television set with an integrated Apple TV caught fire when Steve’s revelation was uncovered in his very own approved biography.

We are only a few days away now from Apple’s Special Media Event which is scheduled to be held on September 1, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Theater in San Francisco. While the event more looks like being iPod-centric, rumor has it that Apple is very likely to introduce new Apple TV (dubbed as iTV) which will be based on iOS like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Apple has started hanging banners outside San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in preparation for the upcoming “Special Event” which will be held on September 1st, here in San Francisco. The large musical guitar banner which you can see in the images below hints towards a music-related event, as it has been for the last few years.