Foxconn chief: we're gearing up for Apple 'iTV'
Sharp investment explained?
Foxconn chief Terry Gou reportedly reckons that Apple, one of the contract manufacturer's biggest customers, is indeed preparing the so-called 'iTV'.
To be fair to Gou, he didn't actually say Apple is planning to offer an HD TV, but he did say his company is preparing its production lines for such a product, at least according to China Daily's report.
Foxconn is believed to be Apple's chosen manufacturer for the rumoured TV. The company has a long history of punching out Apple kit, from MacBooks to iDevices, and most recently took a 50 per cent share in Sharp's TV production business.
TVs are not currently a good business to be in: margins are negligible and there's an over-supply of key components, particularly LCDs. It's assumed that the usually savvy Foxconn wouldn't make such a deal - it paid the equivalent of just over £500m - if it didn't have a pretty good idea it will need the facility in short order.
The 'iTV' would seem to be what Foxconn has in mind.
Gou indicated that production has not yet commenced on the 'iTV', so it seems we're not likely to see it in the near future. Past rumours have run from Q2 2012 to Q1 2014 as the gadget's release window. Given the state of the world economy, Apple is no doubt waiting for the right moment. ®
COMMENTS
The Why is because some people clearly don't consider what a terrible idea it is to tie your television set to a software and services provider. All of this could be done in a separate box so that if a better box comes out you don't have to junk the investment in the screen.
When everything is in a single device, you are reliant on Apple for everything for the lifetime of the television. Will it still offer service in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years?
This question applies equally to other "smart" TVs that are appearing from Samsung and others. I wonder how smart they'll be 5 years hence when the services are bitrotten and broken.
@DrXym
But for everyone who likes the idea of a regular tv with a bolt-on box, there's the existing AppleTV and the world of competitors for it. For the people who can achieve the same thing using a PC, they arent the target market, so shouldn't really be down on the product, they aren't being forced to buy it.
There will be a lot of people out there who buy a TV based on how it looks, or the brand name attached to it. If its not REALLY expensive, they'll shift loads of them.
Also, their iPad, iPhone, Mac annual refresh being staggered as it is to help keep god news coming and continually prop up the share price ... that would benefit from a bit of annual good news about new TV variants. Groundbreaking, magical, revolutionary 22" tv's for kids bedrooms or kitchens, for example... to compliment the 32" bedroom variant and the 40" living room variant previously released. Ultimately leading to the 60" iTV Pro.
Of course...
The *perfect* solution for *everyone* is a PC sitting on the floor with mouse & kb & lots of cables that requires booting just to watch TV....
I do hope you're watching TV on a screen with no tuner & no speakers...
its not a monitor though. its a TV. big difference.
of course the fanboys will be throwing themselves at apple to get a sub-par TV for double the price of the competition.
I was watching the news on ITV this morning. And over the weekend my wife was watching Britains Got Talent (which from what i saw, is false advertising) on ITV also.
