Sub £900 Apple television sparks high interest from consumers - analyst

An analyst released the results of a survey about the rumoured Apple television, revealing that there is a high interest in the speculated product, but a big price tag could cause problems for Apple.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster found that 49 per cent of his survey's participants would be interested in buying an Apple television set, reports Cnet. Although 29 per cent said that they were not looking to buy a new television, they said that they would likely change their minds if Apple enters the market.

"We believe this suggests that customers would be willing to interrupt an estimated seven-year TV product cycle to purchase an Apple Television," said Munster in the investor report sent out on Wednesday. "This is of course not surprising given the following of Apple products and widespread adoption of the iPhone and iPad."

If Apple puts the estimated price of $1500 (about £957) on the television, only 12 per cent of those interested in buying it would cough up the cash, Munster revealed. "The hurdle Apple is going to face with winning consumers to Apple Television is the price," he said. "Over the past seven years, consumers have been conditioned to pay progressively less for TVs, with the average 32in TV price down 76 per cent since 2005."

The Apple television (dubbed iTV) has been one of the most talked about unreleased products from the company of the past year, following the revelation in Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs that the late Apple co-founder had been interested in an integrated television set. "It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine," Isaacson quotes Jobs as saying.

The television is expected to arrive any time between now and early 2014, and could have a Retina display, according to a display expert. The HDTV could also have FaceTime, AirPlay and Siri. According to reports, Apple started a trial production run of the product in May, and an alleged prototype was leaked, resembling a larger Apple monitor.

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