Are you ready for iCable? Rumor has it that Apple is working to make a deal with top cable operators to move into your living room with an Apple-made device that would replace current cable set-top boxes. It would be yet one more area of technology that the once nearly obsolete computer company has infiltrated and pretty much taken over.
So far, the rumors are just that, according to The Wall Street Journal who were told by an Apple spokesperson that it’s all just speculation, refusing to comment further. I can’t say the news comes as surprising in the least to me, as I am fairly certain we will one day witness the apocalypse in the wake of an Apple versus Microsoft battle for world domination.
As of right now there is Apple TV, an Apple box that works with televisions to watch streaming content such as Netflix, but so far Apple has failed to convince a cable operator to get on board with allowing live television content to work through Apple channels. Much like their general takeover of the smartphone world, in which other smartphone companies have dealt with lawsuits for making phones too similar, Apple would probably aim to eventually be the go-to company for set-top boxes. However unless they can actually get an existing cable provider on board, such a box would go the way of TiVo – a product that people bought when it was new and exciting but then generally moved to renting DVR systems from their cable company rather than investing in owning one.
Is there room for Apple in the television industry? Certainly the company has a way of getting things done when it is motivated, but since the whole thing is being chalked up to rumor at the moment, I wouldn’t worry about it happening anytime soon. If they can get a major cable provider on board though, it could be a reality.
