“On June 23, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple TV,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“The proposed system is described by Apple as being an enhanced TV widget paradigm,” Purcher reports. “Apple’s paradigm involves taking widgets to the next level of live widgets that will interact with TV shows like NBC’s ‘The Voice’ so that users could directly vote for their favorite candidates from their HDTV effortlessly.”
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Purcher reports, “The system will also work with live sports like football with other live content in the works. The system still involves Apple’s Apple TV set-top-box but with a twist: It will finally hook up with regular cable TV networks… Apple [has] envisioned and developed an enhanced TV widget paradigm in which widgets are capable of being content-aware and thus capable, among other things, of automatically (i.e., without intervening user input) providing the user with access to information or other resources that are complementary or otherwise relevant to the media content currently being presented by the TV set to the user.”
Read more in the full article here.
Yet another example of Apple systematically rebuilding our fundamental concept of what TV is, and could be, when combined with net aware technologies.
Bring on the ‘Smart TV’! (too oxymoronic?..)
“Interactive tv man…
Wave of the future!” – crazy bomber from Speed (1994)
We had something like this 35 years ago. It was called Qube, and had a cabled remote with buttons for interacting with onscreen content. Way ahead of its time.
Actually Apple may have struck gold with that Voice show. One of the options of voting is through downloading any contender’s song, they count and it counts big. One particular artist Dia Frampton or something close to it, had a hit with Apple iTunes download counts. Few saw that coming as she wasn’t the front runner with the “coaches/judges”.
It appeared to me from that show that a certain crowd finds it more convenient and comfortable to use iTunes downloads than spend a dollar to sms or call a toll free number which may or may not be busy. I know I never called any numbers. But if I was so inclined, I could easily download any artist’s songs off iTunes and be done.
Apple must’ve noticed it too, and I think they may build something more solid around their iTunes brand. This report seems to indicate that, and Apple needs to move fast with a mind not to bungle it.
Finally we just might get cable TV through Apple’s box. It’s going to be a great iCloud opportunity being that there’s no HD in the box anymore. I welcome the cable option for sure. Smart widgets for TV will be a great advancement.
To Krquet, I agree. I got sucked into this show somehow and being able to vote onscreen while I’m watching TV would be great. Tied to the internet, the ui will send me to iTunes for some cross selling. Until the voice, I didn’t get wanting interactivity like that on a TV. I get it now.