“Piper Jaffary analyst Gene Munster has been one the loudest and longest proponents of the notion that Apple is getting ready to enter the television business,” Eric Savitz reports for Forbes. “And this morning he reports that there is more evidence to support his view that the company is likely to launch its first TV products late in calendar 20120 [sic].”
“Munster writes that the latest data points follows meetings in Asia last year that pointed to the conclusion that Apple is investing in manufacturing facilities for LCD displays ranging from 3.5-inch mobile displays to 50-inch television displays,” Savitz reports. “In September, Munster adds, he met with a contact close to an Asian supplier ‘who indicated that prototypes of an Apple Television are in the works.'”
Savitz reports, “‘We believe that Apple only enters mature markets with the goal of revolutionizing them, as it did with the smartphone,’ he writes. ‘In television, we see an opportunity for Apple to reinvent how consumers discover and enjoy video on their TVs and mobile devices (live TV, previously aired shows, movies, user generated content, etc.). Without a revamped TV content solution, we do not think Apple enters the TV market. Since we know Apple is exploring television hardware, we are therefore led to conclude that the company is exploring a solution for live TV, and this solution could be one that has not yet been taken mainstream.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Steven Musil reports for CNET. “The analyst outlined three scenarios for delivering live TV content, including simply enabling the TV to manage a live TV service from within a unified interface, as well as offering access to live TV from network programming in combination with Web-based video services. Apple could also offer monthly content subscriptions on an a-la-carte basis–a scenario Munster described as ‘the most challenging scenario due to existing licensing arrangements.'”
Read more in the full article here.