A channel change: Will Apple start selling televisions?

February 18, 2011 6:35 PM
Dean Takahashi

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Apple has had modest success with its Apple TV set-top box for streaming movies and music into homes. But the company might be exploring getting into the business of selling televisions.

If Apple does it right, it could disrupt yet another category of consumer electronics, in addition to the smartphone and tablet categories where it has succeeded beyond its wildest hopes.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company recently posted a job listing on its web site for an AC/DC power supply design engineer.

The engineer will work “on the forefront of new power management designs and technologies … for Apple’s next generation Macintosh platforms spanning from notebook computers, desktop computers, servers, standalone displays and TV.”

It’s going to need a lot more than one engineer to design the company’s own TVs. But the topic has been one of speculation since Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple, said at a conference that it makes more sense to embed a product like Apple TV into a television than to try to sell a set-top box. Apple has launched its second-generation Apple TV set-top box for $99. It competes with other boxes such as the Boxee Box, Roku, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

The TV business also has fierce competition, from Sony to Samsung. Computer makers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell have tried to enter the TV business, to no avail.

It could be very difficult to enter the TV business at such a late stage, since TVs are already going through great changes, with manufacturers shipping 3D TVs and internet-connected TVs. The best time to enter a market is before the disruptions take place, as Apple did with smartphones and tablets.

If Apple has any advantages, it might be in trying to get apps to run on a big screen, as I have written before. Apple has more than 330,000 apps in the App Store. If it got apps to run on the TV, it could offer lots of free or 99 cent apps. That would disrupt traditional TV content, such as $60 video games.

How Apple enters the business also makes a difference. If it wants to make apps run on the TV, it will likely have to beef up the memory, processing power, and media storage capabilities of a TV. But it can’t jack up the price to crazy levels, considering the fierce price competition in the TV market.

One approach to bypass those extra costs is to use a server-based technology such as OnLive, which can stream high-quality games to a TV screen. OnLive announced at the Consumer Electronics Show that it will stream games to TVs made by Vizio. While that requires a fast broadband connection, it does not require extra hardware in a TV. The advantage of server-based apps on the TV is that the TV doesn’t have to be upgraded over time to handle beefier apps.

http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

Here's my problem with the Apple television speculation: What would Apple have to gain from producing its own TVs that it can't already accomplish with the Apple TV? The company could easily bring an app ecosystem to TVs with the current $99 ATV, but for whatever reason they've avoided utilizing that device to its full potential, even in its second incarnation.The cellphone market was ripe for disruption because giants like Nokia got lazy and stopped innovating. The same isn't really true for the TV market, with companies like Samsung and LG actively pursuing their own app initiatives. Then there's the push for 3D — which is kind of terrible right now, but will pave the way for glasses-free 3D that doesn't suck.Consumers also generally replace their cellphones more often than they do expensive TVs. Apple would have to offer more than just apps if they want consumers to replace their $1000-$2000 sets. As for this job posting, I don't really think the language is all that ambiguous. Apple's platform has already made its way to TVs via the Apple TV. I also wouldn't be surprised if it's planning an even more slimmed down version of the device, which is where a power supply engineer would come in handy
http://venturebeat.com deantak

Oh Devindra. You merely repeat my observations, from a negative spin. Steve Jobs already acknowledged that people don't want to buy one more set-top box. He is currently selling an Apple TV set-top box and it isn't selling well. So he wants to do something different. After all, people are giving Sony and Samsung $1,000 for TVs that either don't come with apps or come with just 100 apps. Wouldn't you pay $1,000 for a TV that comes with 330,000 apps? The apps aren't a giant selling point. They merely add value to what you're already going to buy. The good thing about Apple is that it knows how to design good user experiences. Some of the internet-connected TVs are still bad user experiences. Apple can come in and charge a little more for the Apple name and the better Apple user experience. Apple can offer integration of the TV with the iPad and iPhone (others can do this too, of course). It can thus get the extra margin that it takes to survive in the TV business — something that HP and Dell couldn't get. The value of having a set-top box capability built right into your TV is that you can get rid of some wires and get rid of a box. Who needs a game console when you've got 40,000 free or 99 cent games to play on your TV? Who needs a Wii when you can use a motion-sensing iPhone as your controller for a game? That's offering better value for the consumer.As for the engineer, maybe Steve Jobs wants a nice big TV set up in his office. But if they're doing a TV, somebody has to design that white power cord and white power supply that plugs into the TV. Apple's power supplies are like nobody else's.
http://www.bigjobsboard.com/ Brad Jobs

Hmmnnn… very interesting. This will show if Apple is really a good innovator competing with TV giants Sony and Samsung is not mere walk in the park. Even Google opted to collaborate with Sony instead of building their own Google TV.
http://www.hdflvplayer.net/ Thiaghu

Suprising one,I suppose Apples new innovation to sell out Apple Tv is the talk of the town now, i can find news about it everywhere! Its a good approach i would say……… Apple is going places