tv sets

Interest in an Apple television set among U.S. consumers appears to be hot, but price may be a stumbling block for the much-rumored but still-unannounced device.

Some 49 percent of the consumers queried said they would be interested in purchasing an Apple-marketed TV set, according to survey results released this evening by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Twenty-nine percent said they weren't in the market to buy a new TV but that an Apple entry would turn them into buyers.

"We believe this suggests that customers would be willing to interrupt an estimated seven-year TV product cycle … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook dodged a handful of questions about whether the company is at work on a TV set, while making the argument that it's still an activity Apple is trying to improve.

During a live interview at the D10 conference tonight in Palos Verdes, Calif., Cook was asked how the company was looking to "change television," a question he dodged.

"Very uncharacteristically of us, we're staying in the Apple TV business," Cook said, adding that Apple was "not a hobby kind of company."

Cook added, however, that Apple has already … Read more

If you own an iPhone, you're pretty likely to buy Apple's much-rumored TV set, according to the results of a new study.

Market research firm Strategy Analytics today released findings from its 2012 ConsumerMetrix survey, which says "nearly half" of those who already own an iPhone would be "very or somewhat likely" to buy an Apple TV set.

The survey, which took place in March, was limited to the U.S. and Europe, and consisted of about 6,000 individuals, most of whom were located in Europe.

According to Jia Wu, a Director at … Read more

Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn says its chief executive made no such mention of working on an Apple TV set at a news conference in Shanghai last week, and that any reports otherwise are inaccurate.

In a statement issued to The Next Web, the company said that Chief Executive Terry Gou "made it very clear that he would neither confirm nor speculate about Foxconn's involvement in the product," and that it is the company's policy not to talk about what it is working on for any customer.

"At no time did [Gou] confirm that Foxconn was … Read more

In what appears to be further evidence that Apple is considering the launch of a TV, the company has reportedly contacted at least one component maker about the capabilities of its displays.

"We recently spoke to a major TV component supplier who has been contacted by Apple regarding various capabilities of their television display components," Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to investors today. "We see this as continued evidence that Apple is exploring production of a television."

Munster said previous evidence included meetings in Asia earlier this month that led the analyst … Read more

Apple's much-expected TV set effort could truly be a big-screen affair, with a new report that says the company is gunning for a set beyond 40 inches in size.

In a story tracking the landscape of connected TV sets, ahead of next week's Consumer Electronics Show, USA Today notes that all eyes are on Apple to jump in the race, despite the fact that the company doesn't plan to be at the annual event.

The interesting tidbit comes from an unnamed source who worked at Apple, and told USA Today that "Apple is said to be … Read more

Apple can set its much-expected television set apart from those of competitors--and shake up the TV industry to boot--if it can figure a way to introduce a la carte pricing for shows and channels on Apple TV, a new analyst report suggests.

In a note today to investors, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu asserts that Apple's strength lies less in the hardware innovation it might bring to the TV market than in letting customers subscribe to particular channels or shows of their choosing.

Such a model would run counter to traditional TV packages offered by cable providers that sell … Read more

Rumors of Apple TV sets have been swirling for months. And the Taiwanese publication DigiTimes added to the mix today, with word that its supplier sources say Apple is ordering components to build 32-inch and 37-inch TVs that should go on sale in the second half of 2012.

There have been rumors floating around for years that Apple is building its own TV. The speculation got amped up this fall after Walter Isaacson revealed in his biography of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs that Apple had finally figured out how to build a user-friendly integrated TV.

"I'd like … Read more

The Apple TV might still be a hobby, but it's the king of the set-top box market, researcher Strategy Analytics says.

By the end of the year, worldwide set-top box sales are expected to hit nearly 12 million units, the research firm said yesterday. Apple is expected to sell about 4 million Apple TV units this year, giving it 32 percent market share and the lead against countless other products vying for control in that space, including Roku's line of devices.

Apple launched its latest Apple TV last year. The device allows users to stream movies, television shows, … Read more