Rumors of an upcoming Apple iTV have been flying for quite some time,
but the latest batch of information reaching us from China has a level
of detail that makes us wonder just how close this new device really is.
Word has it that Apple is wrapping up negotiations with cable
providers, but the hardware appears to be finalized and may be in
production at this time.
Specs
Speaking on condition of anonymity, our source described the “iTV” as
a device looks similar to a Mac desktop LCD and will become available
in 42-inch, 46-inch, and 52-inch sizes. The 240 Hz LED TVs appear to be
targeted at the U.S. only and could get smaller screen sizes to
accommodate other geographies as well. The TVs integrate Apple’s A5
dual-core processor, WiFi as well as Bluetooth wireless networking.
The note also mentioned up to 64 GB of flash memory as local storage,
but we are not so sure about this one, as iCloud will be a killer
application that enables the iTV to become the information hub of the
consumer’s digital life. Not only will all information be available in
one place, but there will also be apps that are bridging the iPhone, the
iPad and iTV as the iTV will also run iOS.
Standout Features: Siri, gestures
Our source was rather passionate about this TV and mentioned that the
iTV “will revolutionize” the TV viewing experience. One of the key
components will be Siri, which will allow for natural language voice
control. Similar to the iPhone 4S experience, consumers will be able to
retrieve information based on voice input and this Siri will also be
aware of information that is stored on an iPhone or iPad and connect
information such as calendar data.
There was a note of gesture recognition, similar to what Microsoft’s
Kinect does. However, we have doubts about this one as Microsoft has
patented Kinect left and right and we don’t believe that Microsoft would
grant Apple access to this technology, given its substantial
investments. However, Apple received an open-air gesture patent
some time ago, which leveraged light beams to recognized the position
of body parts such as hands relative to the screen. From a user
perspective, this makes a lot of sense, but we don’t know whether this
is a feature that will really be available.
Consumption vs. creation
Our source mentioned that there will be no keyboards as these TVs are
designed to be pure content consumption devices and not content
creation devices. While content can be controlled via iPhones, iPods and
iPads, we were told, Apple does not envision these TVs to be web
browsing products or email clients. Makes sense to us as email works
much better on personal devices and does not tend to be a public
application whose content you would want to share with anyone who walks
in your living room. We have no information about any control devices,
but are told that gestures are the main input method. Subjectively, we
could imagine simple trackpads or touchscreen devices that serve as
controllers for those who do not have an iPod, iPhone or iPad.
We have no information on the price of the TV.
However, we were told that the TV is in production and could be
shipping in the near future and Apple could be targeting a January
announcement – which would coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas.
Needless to say, there is no way to verify whether the information we
received is, in fact, true. However, we give our senior management
source a reasonable level of credibility.
However, whether true or not, we are hearing more chatter about a TV
built by Apple. The specs are rather secondary as Apple CE devices have
never been about hardware specs. If such a device will be offered, we
know that it will be another device that focuses on a cohesive consumer
experience that is in line with the experience offered by the iPod,
iPhone and iPad. We know that it can’t be just a TV – it needs to be a
device that redefines video content consumption just like the iPhone
redefined the cellular phone.
Siri, gestures and iCloud have every potential to do just that.
Wolfgang Gruener in Products on November 25
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