Determined to break into America's living rooms, Apple is quietly reimagining its television-related efforts,
sources tell The New York Times' Bits blog. The efforts, which confirm recent reports in Engadget, will
likely include a completely redesigned interface. As
Engadget previously suggested,
Apple could base its new television design on its iOS operating system, which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
"Another person, who recently left Apple and was involved with the
company's television group, said some of the more advanced work on the next version of the TV is not taking place within the Apple TV group, but within another design group in the company -- this
could signal an entirely new product," The Times writes. "If Apple does use the iOS software, it would allow people to download applications like the NetFlix app, which allows streaming movies and TV
shows; ABC's TV player; or Hulu's latest video streaming application."
In late May, Engadget sources called Apple's top-secret television efforts "a doozy." For one, they told the tech
blog that the device would likely sell for just $99 -- down from the first version's original price of $300. Also, they said Apple was moving away from local storage, and was focusing the new Apple TV
on cloud-based storage.
Specifics aside, Apple is determined to execute a successful TV strategy, Michael Gartenberg, a partner with the consulting firm Altimeter Group, tells The
Times. "I suspect it's only a matter of time before this hobby gets turned into a business, the TV space is too important to ignore," he says. "The TV remains one of the last disconnected devices in
the household and everyone is trying to figure it out."
Indeed, "One way or another, the Internet is coming to your television viewing experience,"
writes ReadWriteWeb. "Whatever happens, we're willing to bet that Jobs no longer views Apple TV as a hobby, as the
Internet-connected television race has been heating up all year long and only got hotter with Google's entry."
Meanwhile, in a report to clients issued Friday morning, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster argues that Apple is well positioned to take TV
into the 21st Century. Still, as reiterated by Fortune, Munster says the main hurdles for the new Apple TV to overcome include "subsidized set-top-boxes and a lack of TV broadcast standards."
Read the whole story at Engadget et al. »