Apple iTV launch could mean business for hobby
There is much speculation that Apple could be about to announce a new television product. It could be called the Apple iTV, following the naming scheme of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. British broadcaster ITV is not so keen on the name. Based on the success of the portable products, it could turn television into the next big business for Apple.
It has been widely suggested that Apple will launch an update of its television device, famously referred to by chief executive Steve Jobs as a “hobby”. Speaking at the ‘All Things Digital’ conference in June, he said the problem with television devices was that they required an additional box with its own remote and a unique user interface. He described the global market for television, with different countries having different standards and approval processes as Balkanised.
“The only way that’s ever going to change,” he said, “is if you can really go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch with a consistent UI across all these different functions, and get it to consumers in a way that they’re willing to pay for it. And right now there’s no way to do that.”
Such dismissals may be seen by some as an indication that Apple has indeed been thinking about how to do just that.
The speculation is that Apple will launch a box based on the same Apple iOS operating system as the iPhone and iPad, at a much lower price point, that could potentially run third-party applications in the same way as those devices, which could become powerful remote control interfaces.
When Apple first revealed plans for its set-top box in 2006 it was known as iTV but it was launched in January 2007 with the Apple logo and TV in lower case.
The Apple TV product failed to become as popular as the iPhone or the iPad, partly because it was a closed system. Opening the box up to third-party applications, officially, would greatly increase its utility.
With Google planning to extend its open source Android operating system to the television, and enable independent software developers to produce applications for it, Apple may need to learn from the success of the iPhone and the iPad, which become more powerful as products as more apps are available to extend their functions…
Read more at informitv.com
© informitv 2010. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission.