Roundup: iOS for Apple TV, funding for broadband, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Apple TV due for an upgrade — Rumor has it that the humdrum Apple TV service launched four years ago will get a fresh upgrade, including a transition to the iOS operating system that powers the iPad and iPhone. Wired has more.

New funding for broadband — President Barack Obama announced today that the federal government will funnel money into 66 projects intended to extend broadband into remote and impoverished regions of the U.S.

Schmidt addresses Google threats — Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at the Activate summit today, where he took a holistic look at all of the threats confronting the search engine and emphasized the importance of mobile over internet strategy.

Twitter tweeting shopping deals — The micro-blogging site is experimenting with advertising platforms that it can use to promote brands, products, events and more. Now the Twitter handle @earlybird has come online, and the guess is that it will be used to distribute some of these bargains.

Toshiba zooms into electric cars — The major electronics company is partnering with Mitsubishi Motors to build battery systems for electric cars. These batteries will probably be used in the plug-in cars Mitsubishi plans to roll out next year.