Friday, May 4, 2012

Apple : No Apple iTV launch until 2014, says analyst

Apple : No Apple iTV launch until 2014, says analyst

No Apple iTV launch until 2014, says analyst

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No Apple iTV launch until 2014, says analyst

Those hoping for Apple flatscreen TV launch before the end of the year should temper their enthusiasm because it's not coming until at least 2014, according to one analyst.

Apple's heavily rumoured entry into the HD TV market has been one of the tech stories of 2012, with the company said to be working hard on content deals with major studios and networks.

However, with agreements with wary TV executives reportedly more difficult to come by than Cupertino had anticipated, J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz reckons a launch is far from imminent.

The company's research "does not indicate any looming TV-related product launch," Moskowitz said.

Could it prevail?

The analyst also noted that a flatscreen TV launch would not guarantee success, with the market conditions meaning users would be unlikely to pay over-the-odds for the Apple name.

"We are not sure that the Apple premium could prevail in the TV market," and it would need a "radical change of the user interface, integration of the TV programming and data content, and use of gesture or voice control," to succeed, said Moskowitz.

"We believe that the economics of the TV industry are strained, despite there being suitable offerings from the likes of Sony, Sharp, and Samsung. Overall, we would be surprised to see Apple enter a new market unless the value proposition could support double-digit operating margins. In TVs, that bogey is rather elusive, in our view.

"Despite our current skepticism, we think that if any company can radically alter the TV landscape, it is Apple," he added.

iPay

Instead of moving full steam ahead with a telly, the analyst reckons Apple could switch its attentions to a mobile payments service called, naturally, iPay.

This would require the company to start fitting its iDevices with NFC tech. Just yesterday we reported on a patent that would allow iTunes users to 'gift' iTunes content to other users.

Apple patent suggests iPhone 5 will bring iTunes Gifting via NFC

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Apple patent suggests iPhone 5 will bring iTunes Gifting via NFC

Apple has filed for a patent to take ownership of a feature, which would allow users of iOS devices to 'gift' iTunes content using NFC tech.

The filing, uncovered by Patently Apple, would encourage iDevice owners to send music playlists or even movies, TV shows and apps from one iPhone or iPad to another.

The exchange, which would take place via a Near Field Communications chip, would come at a cost to the sender, although there was no mention of whether the content could be sent at a reduced rate.

In the diagrams that accompanied the patent filing, users can also personalise the gift with an image and a voice memo.

iPhone 5 set for NFC?

Of course, none of the current generation of iOS devices boast NFC tech, but this patent filing will enhance the rumours that Apple intends to include the chip within the next iPhone.

However, this isn't a new idea completely idea. The filing was originally made by Apple in 2008 and was updated in 2011.

So, Apple has been thinking about integrating NFC into its mobile devices for at least four years. Will 2012 finally be the year the iPhone brings the future-thinking communications tech on-board?
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