Analysts Predict Late-2012 Apple TV Launch
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012A major TV component manufacturer revealed that Apple contacted it about providing TV display components, Piper Jaffray analysts said in a note to investors Tuesday.
“We continue to believe Apple is preparing to launch a television and is likely targeting a late calendar year 2012 launch,” said analysts Gene Munster and Andrew Murphy. “But the timeline and scope of a revamped content solution is more uncertain.”
The comments are the latest indication that Apple intends to fulfill the late CEO Steve Jobs’ vision of delivering a simple but elegant user interface for revolutionizing the mainstream TV market.
App Developers Key
Munster and Murphy believe that Apple’s strong iOS developer community would likely jump at the chance to build apps for an Apple Television, and that millions of users of Apple products based on the iOS platform would be intrigued by an Apple TV offering. However, the launch of an entirely new platform is not without considerable risks.
“If you lead a developer ecosystem then you have to keep feeding them and you also have a responsibility to take them to the Promised Land or at least ever higher patches,” said Al Hilwa, director of applications development software at IDC.
On the other hand, Apple may believe it is even more risky to cede the television market to rivals. “If Apple does not crack the TV or living room entertainment nut, then Microsoft, Google, Amazon or maybe even Facebook may get there before them,” Hilwa said.
Apple TV Options
Apple could simply enable the Apple Television platform to manage a consumer’s live TV service from within a unified interface much like TiVo does today. To avoid the high cost of market entry, however, Apple would need to rely on Multiple Services Operator partnerships.
“While this would be the easiest and most likely option, it would also be the…
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