You almost have to admire Piper Jaffray analyst Gene (No Relation to Herman) Munster, he keeps holding on to his belief that THIS is the year that Apple will release a full-fledged Apple television set.
His thinking is apparently based in checks with Apple’s suppliers and he also sees the Cupertino firm shipping an intelligent remote that, in his mind, should be an important part of the rumored iTV…
In Bloomberg’s interview with Munster, he is quoted as saying, “The core of the debate is an improved set-top box… a hockey puck that attaches to your TV, or an actual television. Based on our work, in part, with talking to suppliers in asia, to talking with people in the industry, we think its an actual television.”
Munster goes on to say that an Apple remote control and content on demand will be essential ingredients of what Apple television will be.
Munster isn’t alone in his belief that Apple will enter the tough TV market. Brightcove founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said last month he expects a new version of Apple’s $99 set-top box with a coax dongle, and a Retina enabled standalone TV that runs apps.
“Smart TVs” have so far been unable to find a solid foothold in the marketplace. But, a study by AlphaWise and Morgan Stanley indicated that 1 out of 2 buyers polled would gladly pay a premium price for a television interface created by Apple.
So what about it reader? Are you happy with the current state of television? Would you buy a television from Apple? What would be the price point that would get you to buy such a television? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
