There’s a strong rumour floating around that Apple may begin dabbling in the TV DVR/STB market and there’s substantial evidence to make this rumour one worth reporting.
In the late Mr Jobs' just released biography, Steve had stated his interest in the TV market “I’d like to create an integrated TV set” and had said that he believes he’d cracked “the simplest user interface you could image” and that “it would be seamlessly synched with all of your devices and with iCloud”. This appears like a fairly straightforward confession of intent to this writer.
Other evidence takes the form of a recently approved Apple patents (not more patents!) for an advanced set-top-box-like device with content search functionality, menu designs and inclusion of the word TV in other cloud and synchronisation patents.
There have been apparent leaks from Asian contacts confirming that designs for an Apple TV were being put together and there’s evidence that Apple has been securing manufacturing facilities and LCD panels, though, without knowing the size these could very easily be for another Apple product.
Gene Munster, from the Piper Jaffray investment bank, who has been studying this evidence in-depth, claims that Apple may attempt to use Siri to simplify the user interface of the potential TV device. He also goes onto suggest that there’s a $6 billion potential market share out there for Apple and so, with the patents and the diary confession, we have the means and now the motive; it all seems pretty closed case to me, but what do you think? And how might Apple TV technology fair against the likes of TiVo, Sky+HD and the existing myriad of other DVR/PVR solutions out there?
