It’s Not TV, It’s… It’s… a Big Thing You Carry Around the House
Analyst James McQuivey thinks he’s cracked the code behind Apple’s long-rumored TV set:
“Apple should sell the world’s first non-TV TV,” McQuivey wrote. ”Instead of selling a replacement for the TV you just bought, Apple should convince millions of Apple fans that they need a new screen in their lives. Call it the iHub, a 32-inch screen with touch, gesture, voice, and iPad control that can be hung on the wall wherever the family congregates for planning, talking, or eating.”
The analyst continues, noting that such a device could eventually replace the traditional television for many users. ”My proposal takes advantage of everything Apple has going for it: Its base of super-engaged customers, its bevy of hungry developers, its ability to open our minds to the possibility of post-PC computing form factors, and its spectacular track record with generating elegant experiences that teach us to do things we didn’t know we needed. In fact, I want this so bad I can almost taste it.”
I’m going to have to think about this one some more. But a 32″ iPad you bring with you from room to room? Why?
An iPad can be passed back and forth for games, or two iPads can share a bluetooth connection for multi-screen gaming. If you’re just watching TV, use the big screen on the wall or the iPad in your lap.
I might be falling into the same group of people who said nobody would ever need a “third screen” between their smartphones and their laptops. You have heard much from those people since the iPad become the biggest runaway hit in consumer electronics.
Do you need a fifth screen in-between your iPad and your TV?
I suppose I could lug a 32″ down to the basement to listen to a Yankees game while I do some woodworking. But that means buying another tv, and beefing up my wi-fi & do I have to add another tier to my directv subscription? Just doesn’t seem worth it. At most, it would be nice for about 4 hours a week.
The portability issue appeals to people (like me, for instance) who don’t want (or really need) to purchase multiple televisions. But would like, on occasion, to watch a flick in bed, rather than in the family room. If the transition were seamless, then it could be a winner.
But the key is really the pipe. Having a home wireless network that is robust enough to handle the bandwidth of streaming HD video, along with everything else, is paramount. I’ve watched too many movies in hotel rooms that have suffered because the network simply couldn’t handle the load. Even if that’s not Apple’s fault, they’ll get the blame for it because the end result is consumed on their device. Look at the continued grief they get because of AT&T’s crappy cell network.
He’s barking mad.
I can believe Apple might make an “AppleTV” that is not (or replaces/improves) the current Apple TV settop box.
But I can’t believe it’ll be “a TV”, rather than a box you plug into someone else’s perfectly good monitor/TV, or that Apple thinks people want to move a 32″-class device around and have multiple wall-mounts for it like that.
(On Nukem’s point, well… there’s not much to stop you doing that now with a TV with builtin wireless, which is hardly a new product. That nobody does that argues against Apple thinking it’s a game-changer.
For that matter, given the low price of TVs in that range [and the ridiculously small margins for that commodity], I can’t see Apple wanting in.
I find the watching-a-movie-in-bed thing works great with an iPad, myself.)
My first reaction was: why add touch controls to something you’re going to hang on the bloody wall?
On the other hand, I doubt I’m in the target demographic because a)I hardly ever watch TV as such, and b)I don’t have the funds for that kind of luxury, at least at what Apple usually charges.
James McQuivey has quite succinctly shown why he doesn’t work at Apple.
A 32″ luggable tablet? That you hang on the wall?
Sorry, 32″ is too much to lug around, barring a major advance in batteries and power supplies. I’m not sure a 32″ touch screen makes any sense anyway, unless we’re talking about using it as a whiteboard replacement. But image-recognition 3D gesture control would make a lot of sense, and could potentially create a real immersive experience…
32″ isn’t too big to lug around if it’s made of gorilla glass, flexible glass that you could roll up, made by Corning.
But I believe iTV is a tiny projector that could project on any white surfaces, with iPad or iPhone as control, and streams programs from iCloud.