So far, everything that is known or said about «iTV» is mere speculation. Despite some “leaks” and even supposed comments from Steve Jobs passed on by the author of his biography, Walter Isaacson, the fact is that officially Apple has not announced / confirmed anything about the product and, if so, he may never see the daylight.
Meanwhile, the debates – many, very interesting – continue, after all, it is common sense that Apple will only dive into this segment if it has something really new / different to bring to consumers.
James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research, gave his point yesterday: he believes that Apple’s television will be a “non-TV”, a kind of “iHub”:
A 32 ″ screen with touch, gestures, voice and control via iPad that can be hung on the wall wherever your family gathers to plan, chat or eat – in more and more American homes, this place is the dining room or kitchen. By encouraging developers to create apps that serve as a hub for family life – including shared calendars, photo and video viewers, and FaceTime chat with Grandma – this non-TV could take off, eventually putting Apple as a replacement your 60 ″ TV when it’s ready to retire.
The bet is bold and differentiated, but it is difficult to say if this is the path that Apple is preparing. In fact, it is quite another thing to simply put a cute new screen with nice resolution on the market – because that would be more of the same.
Looking at the product as put by McQuivey, I still can’t see the “snap” that would make Apple really venture into it. At the end of the day, he is just an analyst and, if the idea were really fantastic / revolutionary, it would not be put like that, in a simple blog, in full swing. Reinventing this market is far from simple.