Yesterday we reported that  with some inside knowledge from a  reliable source the part number for a new Apple TV has surfaced alongside the new iPad 3 part numbers. This came to be from 9to5mac.com but more evidence has been uncovered by  AppleInsider….

For three consecutive weeks, the Cupertino-based company has failed to make good on its promissory to restock indirect channel partners with fresh inventory of the existing $99 Apple TV product, say people familiar with matter.

Instead, partners and channel members have seen Apple push back deliveries each consecutive week by one additional week — a practice that almost always foreshadows a formal discontinuation of a product ahead of new models.

Concrete evidence that the Apple TV set-top box is set for a refresh began to crop up this month, when the online store of retailer Best Buy suddenly stopped selling the $99 device. Since then, availability has been scarce at the company’s largest resellers, including as Amazon.com, MacMall and MacConnection, though the Apple TV has remained readily available at Apple’s own online store.

The new Apple TV model — referenced in pre-releases of Apple’s iOS software as both Apple TV 3,1 and J33 — is expect to feature the same or similar components to Apple’s imminent third-generation iPad. One leak from earlier this month claiming to show an “iPad 3″ logic board indicated the device will be powered by a new processor known as “A5X,” suggesting it is an enhanced version of the A5 CPU currently found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.