14 DAY TRIAL // Best Buy is asking customers to say whether they’d be interested in buying an Apple HDTV with a 42-inch display and an iSight camera for Skype conversations on the big screen.
A “concept” survey asks U.S. residents to provide their feedback on a potential new television product from Apple.
The document may look like a leak at first glance but, in reality, it’s just the retailer envisioning what the Apple HDTV would be all about.
“Be one of the first to get the all new 42'' Apple HDTV at Best Buy for $1,499," reads the ad. “Apple finally reinvents what a TV can do.”
The product would incorporate Apple’s well known iOS operating system (something which the current Apple TV already does), “which allows you to purchase and stream movies and other entertainment from the Internet,” says the survey.
The set would have its own App Store, according to the specs sheet, to which Best Buy adds: “Can you imagine playing Angry Birds on a big screen in your living room?”
If there even is one such App Store planned for the next Apple TV, it won’t be for playing Angry Birds on the big screen.
As any Apple fanatic will tell you, the option to play Angry Birds (and thousands of other games and apps) on the big screen is already available through AirPlay.
Further down the specs list, Best Buy mentions iCloud support and the ability to control the set via your iPhone and / or iPad. The iCloud thing is a no-brainer, and the iOS-based remote control functionality is already available. Siri will most likely be Apple’s next remote controller.
Then comes this little nugget: “Built-in convenience with built in iSight camera and microphone for Skype”.
Not only will Apple never advertise Skype as the standard video calling feature on any of its products - since they have FaceTime - the term "iSight" has been axed ever since the introduction of the new FaceTime HD cams.
Finally, even for an Apple set, $1,499 is a tad too steep. Perhaps one close to the 50-inch mark would retail this high.
Even if this is just Best Buy testing the waters, they should have done a little more research to come up with a more credible list of technical specifications. Chances are it would have gotten even more attention from the Apple blogosphere.