Television

Samsung’s upcoming TV has ‘an unprecedented new shape’. Is it translucent? Frameless? Retina?

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 1, 2013

Say what you will about Samsung of South Korea, but the company is leading the Smart TV revolution at a time when the once mighty Japanese consumer electronics giants like Sony, Panasonic and Sharp are struggling to stay afloat. Last week the firm teased an upcoming TV launch with a charming video suggesting that "all the TVs are rushing to see Samsung’s new TV" at CES.

If you haven't seen it yet, the clip closes rather dramatically with a shot of a large TV set hidden behind a white sheet. Following up, Samsung has now shared an intriguing image via its official blog that raises more questions than it answers...

Intel might launch own Apple TV competitor and cable service at CES

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 1, 2013

The world's leading chip maker Intel, which supplies processors for Apple's Mac notebooks and desktops, is reportedly prepping to launch its rumored virtual cable TV service and set-top box because the company was frustrated with “everyone doing a half-assed Google TV so it’s going to do it themselves and do it right”, according to sources that spoke with TechCrunch.

Intel allegedly "has a plan to overcome licensing hurdles" that Apple reportedly has been facing for some time in its attempts to woo big-budget Hollywoood studios. The semiconductor giant will apparently roll out the service on a city-by-city basis rather than nationwide, opting to cut content deals on a per-market basis.

Apple, of course, has long been rumored to be testing prototypes of a full-fledged 46 to 55-inch television sets as the living room remains "an area of intense interest" for the Cupertino giant...

Samsung teases new TV launch at CES 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 27, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAV-Kkq-GtY

While the iTV rumors have continued unabated right throughout 2012, little concrete supply chain leads do we have of Apple building a full-blown television set. Meanwhile, the sunset of Japan's television business and ongoing struggles of Sharp, Sony and Panasonic combined have paved the way for the rise of new competition from South Korea, chiefly Samsung Electronics whose Smart TV sets have taken over the entire television market by storm. And as Apple is pondering its next move, its frenemy is building up on the CES 2013 hype with a teaser that promises a new TV launch...

Foxconn reportedly testing 46 to 55-inch Apple television sets

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2012

A new rumor out from Apple's supply chain in Asia has it that Foxconn, the world's largest (and Apple's favorite) contract manufacturer is testing some badass television panels with the shining Apple logo on them. But don't get your hopes up high, because shipments of iTVs are unlikely to begin before 2014.

The rumor corroborates last week's report by The Wall Street Journal claiming Apple is working with component suppliers in Asia to test several TV-set designs. Unnamed manufacturing sources also warn that the possibility of Apple using IGZO display panels from Sharp "is not high" as the firm is allegedly testing display panels ranging from 46 to 55 inches diagonally...

Brightcove CEO sees a bright future for Apple television

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 17, 2012

Brightcove founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire previously shared some interesting observations regarding Apple's living room strategy, saying that AirPlay technology and third-party apps will set a mythical Apple television set apart from traditional TV sets. And with Tim Cook telling NBC that television remains an "area of intense interest" for Apple.

Jeremy this morning shared some additional observations concerning the Apple TV strategy, noting Apple should best serve its customers with a companion $149 device rather than a full-blown HD TV set costing as much as two thousand bucks...

As rivalry with Samsung and Google intensifies, all eyes are on iTV

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Here's the latest on the Apple television front: it will certainly be announced in the next three years and it will look like, well, something. But whenever and whatever Apple unveils, rivals are sure to copy it. So says venture capitalist, the founder of Netscape and one of the early architects of the web, Marc Andreessen.

Andreessen, who sits on the board of Facebook and HP, is just the latest voice in what's become a deafening roar of rumor, leaks and knowledgeable guesses surrounding talk that Apple will get into the television business. Somehow. Sometime...

One in two willing to pay a premium for the better Apple television interface

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 11, 2012

Here's something to chew on as another Wall Street voice chimes in on the possibility of an Apple-made television set. In a survey, 47 percent of consumers say they are interested in an iTV with about the same number willing to pay more than a thousand bucks to put an Apple logo in their living room. Perhaps most intriguing is how one analyst opens the door to an iTV without the headaches of licensing content.

According to the survey by AlphaWise and Morgan Stanley, eleven percent of US head-of-households polled said they were "extremely interested" in an Apple television, with 36 percent "somewhat interested." The 47 percent of interested consumers is greater than the number of people who were interested in the iPhone and iPad, when those Apple devices first entered the American conscious...

Former VP calls iTV an ‘enduring fantasy’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2018

As big shot analysts and Hollywood execs continue to argue whether or not Apple might ever build a standalone television set, people privy to the inner workings of Silicon Valley's technology darling are not as convinced as the general public appears to be. Former Apple vice president Jean-Louis Gassée took to his blog to offer his take on Tim Cook’s recent comments in an NBC interview about television being an “area of intense interest” for Apple. He calls the mythical iTV an "enduring fantasy" and opines why the Apple TV set-top box is the only Apple television you'll ever need...

Apple trolling us with Apple TV apps and games?

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 10, 2012

Ahead of this year's WWDC, BGR editor Jonathan Geller claimed Apple would release a software development kit allowing developers to write third-party apps for the $99 Apple TV set-top box. His prediction was incorrect because to this date the hardware runs just a few stock apps as Apple's been consistent in disregarding calls to open up the platform to third-party programmers.

Gene Munster, arguably the biggest proponent of a standalone Apple television set, has no doubt in his mind that apps are coming to your telly, recently predicting Cupertino will offer an updated Apple TV box with a TV app store as early as next year. In fact, Apple may have inadvertently leaked this capability because the Apple TV's Movies menu has been spotted running banners that promote holiday apps and games...

Apple ‘more in tune’ with TVs than set-top box biz

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 7, 2012

Wall Street investors are among those intensely interested in Apple CEO Tim Cook's remark that the iPad maker has "intense interest" in doing something about television. One observer believes Apple wants its logo on the king of the hill, top of the heap when it comes to consumer electronics: the television set. The company has never been one to work around the edges of an industry.

That's why a Wells Fargo Securities analyst expects Apple to forgo a predicted set-top box and instead go for a full-blown Apple TV, calling it the "centerpiece of the living room"...

Cook: Apple television is an ‘area of intense interest’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2018

NBC's much hyped interview with Tim Cook is scheduled to air today at 10pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific time. The network has posted a preview of the show containing Cook's interesting comment on the state of the elusive and long-rumored Apple television set. In it, Apple's chief executive likened the Apple TV project and the living room to an "area of intense interest", but refused to provide any more details.

Remembering how Steve Jobs had insisted on describing the $99 hockey puck as a hobby business, it's certainly interesting that Cook now positions the living room as a business opportunity Apple is keen on taking to the next level. Perhaps the rumored Xbox TV project from Microsoft has forced Apple to re-consider its "hobby" stance?

Sharp launches a 32-inch Retina monitor that cries for an Apple HD TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Sharp, the struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker, is finally taking its low-power IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels off the ground, announcing Wednesday a 32-inch monitor built around this proprietary display tech. And with 4K resolution of 3,840-by-2,160 pixels, it's a marvel of cutting-edge display engineering.

That's four times the pixels of the current full HD standard which maxes out at 1,920-by-1,080 pixels. In addition to low power consumption, the new monitor achieves the industry's thinnest profile by adopting a specially designed edge LED backlight that's only 35mm deep...