The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published a series of 22 newly granted patents for Apple. One of these patents was awarded to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. That patent was related to organizing episodic TV content on Apple TV. As the figure below points out, Apple has patented an environment where television content at a higher level interface can be broken down into corresponding episodes. Before Steve Jobs passed away, he told his biographer Walter Isaacson that he wanted to invent a television set that would be seamlessly synced with all devices and with iCloud and would have the “simplest user interface you could imagine.”

Hackers TheMudkip, chpwn, and Steve Troughton-Smith are working on putting together a hack that puts iOS apps on the Apple TV. In the video above, you will notice that they have had some success. The Apple TV iOS applications are running natively at fullscreen 720p resolution. [9to5Mac]

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has just updated the Apple TV software and they have added a new feature. You can now buy TV shows instead of just renting them. You can also access and stream any TV show that you have previously purchased from iTunes on your Apple TV.

The fireCore team has put together a jailbreak application called Seas0nPass. Seas0nPass requires you to connect your Apple TV to your computer temporarily to boot on it. The jailbreak application then lets you load custom IPSW files on to the Apple TV.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sent out a press release that says that the company will be hitting one million Apple TV sales this week. Apple TV lets you watch HD movies and TV shows on your TV. The device also lets you stream Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, iTunes and MobileMe on your TV. The device costs $99. [Apple PR]

AirPlay has been one of the most hyped up features built into the Apple iOS 4.2. It works seamlessly with the Apple TV. You can stream music, video, and photos through iOS 4.2 powered devices to your TV through Apple TV. One AirPlay fan e-mailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs to find out whether AirPlay will come to Safari and third party applications. Below is Steve Jobs’ response:

Apple TV is now the 12th best selling electronics device on Amazon.com. Amazon.com recently updated the best selling devices recently and the Boxee Box was added to the list. The Boxee Box is number 15. When Apple first released the Apple TV, it did not do well at all. The latest version of the device is doing very well. [BusinessInsider]

Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Research is predicting that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will sell at least 1 million Apple TVs per quarter. Gauna’s evidence is the regular shipments of the Apple TV. Gauna said that the $99 price point for Apple TV is “resonating with consumers” as he checked with 20 Apple stores across the country. [MacRumors]