BGR claims to have received information from a "trusted source" indicating that Apple will demonstrate the operating system for its television set at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month. The company is reportedly making a public unveiling of the operating system ahead of the actual product in order to allow third-party manufacturers to build functionality into their components to allow them to be controlled from the Apple television set and remote.This new OS is said to be much more feature-complete than the current OS that runs on the Apple TV, and is apparently the one that Apple’s upcoming HDTV will run. Yes, that one.
We’ve heard Apple is actively trying to court manufacturers to use a new “control out” API in order for third-party manufacturers to make accessories that are compatible with the new Apple TV OS and the upcoming “iTV.” It’s said that by using the API, it will be possible to control any connected components all from the Apple remote (and the Apple remote iOS app as well, we’re assuming).The report's source indicates that Apple is unlikely to show off its actual television set at WWDC, and most rumors have suggested that the company won't introduce the product until late this year at the earliest.
BGR has a mixed track record of late, having accurately offered information on several iOS releases last year while being more hit-or-miss on hardware-related claims. read more..
Monday, 4 June 2012
Worldwide Developers Conference-Television Set-Apple Tv-Wwdc
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Television Sets-Isight Camera-Facetime
Cult of Mac reports that it has received information from a "well-placed" source who claims to have seen a prototype of the rumored Apple television set. According to the source, the device resembles Apple's current Thunderbolt display but is "much larger" than the 27-inch model currently offered.
Mockup of Apple television set based on Thunderbolt display design
Among the key features reportedly included on the prototype Apple television set is a Siri-enabled iSight camera allowing users to make FaceTime video calls using the device. Addressing the fact that users are likely to sit substantially farther away from the television than they do their computers and mobile devices, the source claims that the camera will be able to automatically detect and track faces, zooming in on them for FaceTime calls even if they move about the room.The Apple HDTV makes FaceTime calls using the built-in iSight camera. The camera is sophisticated, with facial recognition and the ability to zoom into the user’s face and follow them as they walk around the room. This allows users to make video calls from the couch across the room, rather than having to stand smack in front of the TV.
In addition, calls are initiated by Siri, the iPhone 4S’s virtual assistant. “[Apple] used Siri to make a FaceTime call,” the source said.Apple's rumored television set is widely expected to make extensive use of Siri, a rumor that first surfaced in Jobs' authorized biography, in which he was quoted as saying that he had "finally cracked" the problem of creating an elegant interface for the device. With Jobs calling it "the simplest user interface you could imagine", speculation immediately leapt to Siri, which could allow users to change channels and find shows using only their voice.
The idea of a Siri-enabled television set quickly gained steam with a followup rumor from The New York Times claiming that Apple was indeed working on such a device for a launch in late 2012 or 2013.
Apple has reportedly been working with component suppliers on plans for Apple television sets in recent months, although debate continues as to whether such a product will be ready for launch by late this year, next year, or even 2014. read more..
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Trademark Infringement-Entertainment Center-Patent Application-Television Set-Patrick Hughes
While Apple has been rumored for some time now to be working on a television set, essentially no concrete evidence of such a product has surfaced. But with Steve Jobs noting in his biography that he had "finally cracked" how to create the "simplest user interface you could imagine" for a television, rumors about the company's plans have been circulating widely.
As for what Apple would name such a product, some have suggested that Apple will transition the "Apple TV" name over to the new product, while others have believed that "iTV" would be the company's preferred name even though it raises potential trademark and branding issues with other entities such as the UK's ITV network. Notably, Apple first offered a sneak peek of its own iTV product back in late 2006, opting to rename it as the Apple TV before it launched in early 2007.
Slide from Apple's September 2006 "sneak peek" of iTV, which became Apple TV before launch
But while the British television network is the highest-profile roadblock to any effort by Apple to gain the rights to the iTV, there are others who hold intellectual property rights related to the name, and one in particular is concerned that Apple might be making an end run to usurp the term.
Patrick Hughes, president and CEO of iTV Entertainment, LLC, will be taking his case public tomorrow in an attempt to spur Apple into discussion of the trademark with warnings of legal and/or regulatory action if Apple should introduce a product under the "iTV" name. While Hughes does not hold a trademark on the "iTV" name itself, he does hold one on "iTV Entertainment". From a press release set to be published tomorrow: iTV Entertainment, LLC announced today that its counsel, Bart S. Fisher, had sent a letter to Apple, Inc. board director, Al Gore, suggesting that a meeting be held “to see if an amicable and fair transaction arrangement” could be made between the parties with regard to Apple’s use of the “iTV” mark displayed throughout their U.S. Patent No. 2011/0154394 A1 for a product that is rumored to be in development by and being planned for a possible launch in 2012. Apple describes its device as being “an audio and video entertainment center”.
“The Apple iTV entertainment center device would cause a great amount of confusion with iTV Entertainment customers”, according to iTV Entertainment LLC Chief Executive, Patrick Hughes. Hughes also said that Apple CEO Tim Cook and general counsel Bruce Sewell have been notified as well as another board member Andrea Jung, that should “the iTV rights issue” not be resolved, then we would have no other choice but to “bring to the International Trade Commission (ITC) [our trademark infringement complaint] that could result in an exclusion order being issued against Apple under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.” Hughes notes that iTV Entertainment has been using its U.S.-registered trademark since 2001 and that it made sure in August 2010 that Apple was aware of the trademark should it have been interested in launching its revamped Apple TV set-top box as the iTV. Hughes tells MacRumors that Apple did not express any interest in acquiring his iTV Entertainment trademark at that time.
Hughes points to increasing chatter from analysts and other sources referring to Apple's rumored television set as the "iTV", but relies most heavily on Apple's own use of the term in patent applications as evidence of the company's intent to use the name. Apple's use of the term in patent applications actually extends back a number of years, with the 2011 patent application cited by Hughes in his press release actually being a continuation of a patent application filed for the original iTV set-top box software on the same day it was previewed in September 2006.
Figure from Apple's September 2006 "iTV" patent application
With excitement about a potential Apple "iTV" growing, Hughes clearly senses that the time is r read more..
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Television Content-Television Package-Content Providers-Cable Television-Cable Companies
The New York Post reports that Apple is pressing ahead with plans to launch its own streaming television service by the end of the year, despite continued resistance from content providers.For months, Apple’s point man, Eddie Cue, has been leading talks with content providers, which have largely balked at the tech giant’s efforts to exert control over all aspects of the video service, including pricing, sources said.Apple’s negotiating stance can be summed up as “we decide the price, we decide what content,” according to one source familiar with the talks.“They want everything for nothing,” said another media executive, echoing similar tense negotiations Apple has had in the past with magazine publishers and music companies.The report claims that Apple is interested in offering entire channels as apps that could be used on a number of the company's devices, including the Apple TV set-top box and presumably a potential Apple-branded television set. The report's sources are, however, unclear on whether Apple is seeking to bundle multiple app channels together to form its own equivalent of cable television packages or if it wants to offer them individually to subscribers.Sources also indicate that Apple has tried with no success to convince cable companies to adopt Apple hardware for their own set-top boxes, with Apple providing sleek hardware and software to deliver content to existing cable subscribers across the United States.“They want to create the interface, and they wanted to work with the cable guys to manage bandwidth across the TV and broadband pipeline,” said one source familiar with the talks.Instead, cable executives pretty much shut the door, preferring to keep Apple at a safe distance from the lucrative $150 billion pay-TV business.The report indicates that Apple is actually pursing content deals as its primary target in the television market, with the much-rumored Apple television set being a secondary consideration for the time being. Despite resistance from content providers and cable companies, Apple is said to still be pressing forward with a number of entities including Verizon and AT&T in an effort to land at least a foothold in the television content market.Apple was reportedly negotiating with content providers back in 2009 about developing a "best of television" package that could be distributed through the iTunes Store, but those talks failed to yield any deals and Apple reportedly abandoned its efforts for some time. But with talk of an Apple television set ramping up and the company reportedly having developed its own "new technology" for delivering video content, it seems that Apple is trying once again to find a way to make its own contributions on the content side so as to be able to control as much of the user experience on television as possible. read more..