While rumors about an Apple television set have picked up steam recently following a comment from Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography suggesting that Jobs had “finally cracked” the idea, the rumors have reached the next level as Bloomberg reports that the project is being led by iTunes creator Jeff Robbin.
Robbin is the original Apple engineer who crafted iTunes out of SoundJam MP, which Apple purchased in 2000. While iTunes was originally created as jukebox software, it eventually became the syncing platform for the iPod, and gained new abilities as the years went by. Rubin was also involved in creating the iTunes media store, as well as the iPod.
Bloomberg claims that three separate sources have informed them that Rubin would be heading up the Apple television project, which is especially interesting considering how closely the device will be expected to work with the iTunes media store and library.
The report follows comments issued yesterday by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who claims that prototypes of a future Apple television are already in development, and that Apple has invested significantly in LCD manufacturing facilities.
With any luck, Apple will be able to come up with a solution that revolutionizes the television industry and changes the way we look at TV.