New York:
Knock, Knock. Who's there? Apple TV? Apple TV who?
In September 2006, Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, announced news of the company's latest offering: the Apple TV. Mr. Jobs had high hopes for his latest creation, so high that he told his audience that he hoped the Apple TV would be a fourth leg to the Apple business among PCs and iPods and iPhones.
When the Apple TV was unveiled a few months later in early 2007, Mr. Jobs reiterated these comments in an interview with
USA Today: We've got two strong legs on our chair today -- we have the Mac business, which is a $10 billion business, and music, our iPod and iTunes business, which is $10 billion. We hope the iPhone is the third leg on our chair, and maybe one day Apple TV will be the fourth leg.
Yet it wasn't long before Apple downgraded its hopes of a living room accessory and fourth leg to its business, and Mr. Jobs started referring to the poor Apple TV as a "hobby."
Now that "hobby" might be heading for a major overhaul.
According to several people familiar with Apple's television-related efforts, the company is working on an update to its television software, and will offer a completely redesigned interface for it. These people refused to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about Apple's upcoming products. And company officials declined to comment about any plans for the Apple TV or for other television-related products.
But the people familiar with Apple's television efforts offered some details. They said it was not clear whether the company would create an entirely new product as well as update the software. They also said Apple might base a new television design on its iOS operating system, which is on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
One person familiar with the company's newly hired employees said Apple has recently hired several user interface and graphics designers who have a background in broadcast design for television.
Another person, who recently left Apple and was involved with the company's television group, said some of the more advanced work on the next version of the TV is not taking place within the Apple TV group, but within another design group in the company--this could signal an entirely new product.
If Apple does use the iOS software, it would allow people to download applications like the Netflix app, which allows streaming movies and TV shows; ABC's TV player; or Hulu's latest video streaming application.
Michael Gartenberg, a partner with the consulting firm Altimeter Group, said he suspects it's only a matter of time before Apple tries to get back into the living room. "Right now, Apple TV is much more of an extension of iTunes in the sense that one of its sole purposes is to either buy or rent from the iTunes store," he said.
The people familiar with the company's plans also said that Apple executives are well aware that the battle for the living room is going to be arduous, and that the company must get it right the next time.
In 2008, when Mr. Jobs re-launched the failed Apple TV at another Apple event, he said: "All of us have tried. We have, Microsoft, Amazon, TiVo, Netflix, Blockbuster. We've all tried to figure out how to get movies, over the internet onto a widescreen TV, and you know what, we've all missed. No one has succeeded yet."
Since then, there is even more competition in the living room. Google is readying its latest product, the Google TV, which promises better search and access to the Web on a television.
"I suspect it's only a matter of time before this hobby gets turned into a business, the TV space is too important to ignore," Mr. Gartenberg said. "The TV remains one of the last disconnected devices in the household and everyone is trying to figure it out."