Apple's long-rumored HDTV might not launch until 2014 and according to various rumors, the Cupertino tech giant may make the TV exclusive for the U.S. market for some time after its launch.
Stuff.tv took an interview of Informa's broadband content and online video analyst Giles Cottle, who said that he would find it "surprising if the Apple television wasn't launched exclusively in the US first, [because] content rights can be a massive burden and have to be managed on a country-by-country basis."
Supporting Cottle's view, IHS senior analyst Paul Erickson also said that "an initial US focus is possible as [Apple's] strongest video content availability on iTunes is in the US." He also added that Apple "wouldn't want to spend the effort and marketing dollars to push a TV in markets where both Apple video product demand and local content availability are low at the current time."
According to J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, negotiations and striking a deal for media content partnership with Hollywood are tricky and time-consuming and that may be one of the reasons why Apple is taking longer time to release the much-awaited HDTV.
Apple TV Rumored Features
According to a survey done by Best Buy in February, Apple is expected to release a 42-inch HDTV, which might run iOS, support iCloud, be controllable from an iPhone or iPad, and have access to Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr, same as the existing Apple TV. The new HDTV will be enabled to share content from iPods, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Stream media from mobile devices directly to the television.
Wall Street Journal indicated a Siri-based Remote Control while a Bloomberg report claimed that Apple will offer a YouTube-like built-in video sharing service to let users easily share video online from their iPhones and iPads.
The new iTV might also sport Xbox Kinect-like features to let viewers control the TV by gesticulating with their hands and the TV will read motions to determine actions.
