The Apple rumour mill is at full steam again with news from Apple Insider that the world renowned electronics company may release a high definition television later this year and, by doing so, take a little bit of the $100b market. Brian White, an analyst at Ticonderoga Securities, attended the China electronics trade show recently and said that he found information about "Smart TV" which pointed towards the possibility of Apple launching a TV, maybe by the end of the year.
White also said that, although it has been speculated that Apple would enter the LCD market, the manufacturer now seems to be "moving down this path at a faster pace than the market expected", "our research suggests this Smart TV would go well beyond the miniature $99 second-generation Apple TV that the company released last fall and provide a full-blown TV product for consumers."
"The combination of Apple"s powerful ecosystem, industrial design savvy, powerful brand and ability to reinvent product categories could make Apple a powerful force in the TV world over the next few years," he added.
Previously an analyst from Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, had claimed on numerous occasions that Apple will make a TV and that it will be available within the next two to three years, starting at around $2,000, "As connected TVs gain traction, software, content and portability will become the key differentiators and Apple is uniquely positioned to deliver a premium all-in-one solution" Munster said.
Of course Apple is no stranger to making televisions and if the rumoured product is released it will be interesting to see how far the company goes to integrate their existing technologies and products in order to deliver an all-in-one "connected" service, and how much of a dent this product would make in the ever-expanding television market.