14 DAY TRIAL // For many Wall Street analysts, it’s not a question of “if” Apple will ever release a full-fledged television set, but “when”. Yet many of them fail to consider the unexpected from Apple. Which is why there’s a good chance this rumored big screen from Apple may turn out to be more than just an iTV.
The technology giant headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California is no longer a one-product company.
Although Apple did go through certain transitions bolstering the iMac line, then the iPod, and finally the iPhone, these have been crucial times when the company was somewhat forced to focused on single-product lines for years at a time.
Today, that’s no longer the case. Apple has tapped every major segment in the technology ecosystem, from computers to smartphones, from music to TV and, since 2010, the tablet PC industry. The iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, and even the small Apple TV set-top box, are all doing great!
Many analysts thought the iPad would fail when Steve Jobs unveiled the product looking like a blown up iPhone. All of them were wrong.
Computing, music, TV, social networking, games - all of Apple’s achievements are now routed through the iPad in more ways than we had ever imagined. The device is a one-stop hub for everything out there that can be converted into bits.
The Mac, which is what Apple Computer was founded on, is now borrowing from the iPad. If that’s not a clear indication of where Apple is going, I don’t know what is.
The consensus that Apple will always have trouble convincing the cable networks to stop what they’re doing and re-imagine their business to accommodate a full-fledged Apple television product is most likely true.
And just like Apple didn’t have to beat Microsoft at their own game to ultimately win, why would the company act in any way different when it comes to the television industry?
So let’s take a stab in the dark and consider there’s a pretty good chance Apple’s efforts of unifying the Mac OS - iOS ecosystem will converge into a single 50-inch screen that you can hang on a wall in your living room and control not only with your voice (Siri), but also with a dedicated input device, perhaps one that also supports gaming. Imagine it as a home automator as well.
The company has an App Store teaming with games that would work beautifully in any living room. Think of it as the next Wii Sports. And we all know how that took the gaming industry by storm.
So, instead of asking ourselves “when will the Apple Television roll out?”, why not think “iPanel” - a one-stop hub for... well, everything?
Apple has the hardware and the software to do all this, now.