HD TVs on Apple Agenda by 2011

Apple television set, anyone?

All the Apple talk lately has centered around either Snow Leopard, iTunes 9 or lest we forget, that not-yet-announced-but-highly-publicized Apple tablet. However, interesting words from senior Piper Jeffray Analyst, Gene Munster have put a new spin on the Apple rumors.

In a memo obtained by CNN, Munster told clients that he thinks Apple will enter the market with a TV that has a DVR and home media functions built in. If Munster's musings are correct then the roadmap for Apple's foray into the television marketplace should go a little something like this:

-The company will release a new Apple TV set-top box within the next few months, with a TV input and DVR built in.

Munster says that with the increasingly popularity of Hulu and Netflix's Watch Instantly, Apple will start exploring a subscription-based offering for TV content available on iTunes.

-The next step would be an iTunes TV Pass within the year. This pass would offer users unlimited access to iTunes TV content for around $30-$40 per month.

-Finally, Munster arrives at an Apple TV set that would have the ability to sync with iPods, iPhones and Macs. With a television set that comes "with software that makes home entertainment simple and solves a pain point for consumers" Apple would, of course, charge a premium price. This is all going to happen in the next two years.

What do you guys think? Munster goes on to point out Apple's five-year $500 million contract with LG for LCD screens and the company's DVR patents, among other things. He also points out that the argument saying that Apple won't enter the TV market because prices have fallen about 70 percent in the last three years is much like the argument that said Apple wouldn't enter the cell phone market because a similar thing had happened to mobile phone prices.
source: tomshardware