Apple expected to launch 3 HDTV models by March 2012 - report

Apple expected to launch 3 HDTV models by March 2012 - report

Apple will likely launch a new high-definition television set in March 2012 with three screen sizes and price points, one Wall Street analyst claims.

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I have a hard time seeing this as really a viable area for Apple to compete. When pretty good 55in HDTVs are routinely available for around $1k I don't see many $3k+ TVs going out the door.

But, if anyone can make it work, Apple can.

Razormac said:

I have a hard time seeing this as really a viable area for Apple to compete. When pretty good 55in HDTVs are routinely available for around $1k I don't see many $3k+ TVs going out the door.

But, if anyone can make it work, Apple can.

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When has a higher price ever stopped anyone from buying an Apple product?

I think this is a funny rumor though because it's been around for years now. Will be interesting to see if it finally comes true.

schweb said:

When has a higher price ever stopped anyone from buying an Apple product?

I think this is a funny rumor though because it's been around for years now. Will be interesting to see if it finally comes true.

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I agree, but that is because Apple generally gives
1) Superior performance, and
2) Superior customer service

Admittedly my eyes aren't the best, but picture quality on even the lower range sets is already so good it's hard to justify spending more, so Apple would need to add some really cool features.
As far as customer service goes, I have had a grand total of two repairs done on TV sets (one of which I did myself) in the almost 40 years now I have owned one, so that lessens the appeal of better customer service (at least to me).

Realistically, though, if Apple makes one I'll probably end up buying it.

Google just dropped the price of the Revue to $99.00...

Apple won't be able to do anything with the resolution like they have with the iPhone (and potentially upcoming iPads and MBPs), since that's driven by consumer media which tops out at 1080P.

We know it will be a stunning piece of aesthetic design, but I'm thinking if they can pack in an Apple TV, some additional ports, built-in WiFi, maybe an interface for iOS for a nice controller.

My main beef in the TV market is from the STBs and their horrible UIs. I mean, a DirecTV DVR is like something from the 80's, slow and clunky. I don't know if Apple can really do anything about improving that market, since they're kind of in an odd position being media providers themselves.

I also believe the price point will be more sensitive in the TV market than in the computer market, it's a little more "Joe Consumer".

Just my $0.02 and miscellaneous ramblings

I will hold off any of my skeptical opinions until I actually see what they release. I'm not a fan of Bose, so I won't make any comparisons to it.

MYmacROX said:

Google just dropped the price of the Revue to $99.00...

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I saw that...they are getting more returns than they are selling. I think that might be the new definition of a garbage device! lol

idrinorbarsaku said:

I saw that...they are getting more returns than they are selling. I think that might be the new definition of a garbage device! lol

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I saw that in an article too, but how does that work?

How do you get return units that are more than you sell? Are the boxes reproducing when no one is looking, like tribbles on Star Trek?

Razormac said:

I saw that in an article too, but how does that work?

How do you get return units that are more than you sell? Are the boxes reproducing when no one is looking, like tribbles on Star Trek?

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It can go a little something like this: Say you make 20,000 units. When initially released, you sell 3,000 units the first month. Naturally, there would be about 5-10% return, equalling 1,000-2,000 units right off the bat. This number is an average for a lot of things, and doesn't change until a new product comes, problems arise, or people hate it, and naturally rises the longer an item is out. The next month, sales drop significantly(as in this case)...say 500 units, while people from last month are still at the sale return rate from previous sale results. As long as sales of the next month are significantly dropping from the previous month, your returns will outnumber sales.

Of course, there are always exceptions to this.

I'm waiting till they are free!