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Consumer electronics giant Apple is believed to have begun test production on a revolutionary TV that could be unveiled before Christmas.
According to industry insiders, Apple may unveil a TV-based device in late 2012 or 2013 that has the potential to transform the television industry in the same fashion that the iPod and iPhone have affected music and mobile content.
Dubbed the iTV, the device is rumoured to have voice control, and was one of the last major projects the late Apple pioneer Steve Jobs worked on before he died of cancer last year.
Walter Isaacson, Mr Jobs’ authorised biographer mentioned the late inventor’s desire to pursue the technology in his recent book. He quoted Jobs as saying: “I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.”
Apple products final assembly is done through Asian contract manufacturers, especially Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group.
China Business News recently reported that Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory has received the first order for the product and is producing the initial models on a trial basis.
“We’re going to keep pulling this string and see where it takes us,” he said.
Banking analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray has predicted that the product will be revealed in December. The price is likely to start in the region of BD560.
The Apple iPad, which was launched in 2010, has helped define the tablet computer market. Mr Cook described the iPad as ‘only the beginning’ of Apple’s vision for the future of consumer electronics technology.
