Update: Loewe has officially denied this report, telling Heise Online that there's "nothing to it." [Heise via TNW]

Apple is rumored to be in talks to acquire high end German HDTV manufacturer Loewe. The news comes from an anonymous source who claims that Apple has offered 87.3 million euros (around $112 million dollars).

A source claims that Loewe "has been advised by its financial advisor to accept the offer and a final decision is scheduled to be announced internally before 18 May 2012."

As well as HDTV sets, Loewe also manufacturers high end AirSpeakers that work with Apple’s AirPlay technology as well as various audio systems with iPod integration. Loewe has also embraced the iPad and has released its own app that makes controlling its Audio/Video products a breeze.

We will keep a close eye on this story and let you know as soon as we hear any more information.

Source: Apple Insider

Update: Not surprisingly, Foxconn has denied the statement, telling The Next Web:

“Any reports,” the statement reads, “that Foxconn confirmed that it is preparing to produce a specific product for any customer are not accurate.”

Foxconn chiarman Terry Gou was recently quoted as saying that the manufacturing giant is making preparations for an Apple "iTV" television set, which included buying a significant stake in Sharp for access to LCD displays.

Previous rumors suggested that an Apple-made television would include Siri-style voice recognition and Kinect-esque motion detection, but that's all unconfirmed for now, and I would just as soon chalk it up to wishful thinking.

Steve Jobs was quoted in his biography as having "cracked" the formula for a smart TV set, something beyond Apple's existing set-top box is likely on the way. But Jobs has also said how tough the go-to-market situation is for televisions and the living room, with the cable and satellite providers being far more numerous and enjoying far more monopoly control than even carriers do in the mobile phone space.

We have heard Apple has television concepts in the labs, but it would be more surprising at this point if they didn't. Whether they ever choose to ship an Apple branded television set remains the question. Gou may be in a position to know, given Foxxcon's relationship with Apple, but it's really difficult to see him knowingly leak that sort of information. He couldn't imagine Apple being happy about it, if true, could he?

As always, we'll believe it when we see it. TV is the third screen that Apple has yet to make an agressive play for. Apple TV, from launch until this day, remains a hobby; something for Apple enthusiasts more than the mainstream. If Apple does decide to launch a television, and they do it right, their sphere of influence stands to expand massively.

That being said, we still can't see people lining up to buy a new one every year, especially not at the price that size display, and that type of technology would necessitate.

What would an Apple television need to have for you to drop, say, a thousand bucks or more on one?

Source: China Daily via AppleInsider; The Next Web

French Designer Philippe Starck claims that he has been working on a revolutionary new product with Apple and it will be unveiled in around eight months time. The comments were made to French newspaper Le Figaro and France-Info radio.

"Indeed, there is a big project together which will be out in eight months," said the designer in the show "Everything and its opposite." Invoking the "religious cult of secrecy" of the California firm, he declined further detail, except to talk about a project "quite revolutionary. (French translation)

Either way, we expect some terse phone calls from Cupertino to be hitting Starck's line any time now...

Update: According to Sebastian Page of iDownloadblog, it's an Apple Store design.

>According to a trustworthy source in France, Philippe Starck is actually working on a design for a future Apple Store. I wasn’t able to get more details out of my contact, but I do trust her. And from what I hear, this is hardly a secret in the small French world of design and architecture.

Hit the source link below for more.

Update 2: Apple has issued a statement that they aren't working with Starck on anything at all. He might still be making a yacht that Steve Jobs had commissioned prior to his death.

Source: Hardmac via 9to5 Mac, ATD ; Image: Wikipedia, iDownloadblog

At a recent trade show, Samsung product manager Chris Moseley commented on the recent rumours swirling about an Apple-made iTV television.

"We've not seen what they've done but what we can say is that they don't have 10,000 people in R&D in the vision category. They don't have the best scaling engine in the world and they don't have world renowned picture quality that has been awarded more than anyone else. TVs are ultimately about picture quality. Ultimately. How smart they are...great, but let's face it that's a secondary consideration. The ultimate is about picture quality and there is no way that anyone, new or old, can come along this year or next year and beat us on picture quality. So, from that perspective, it's not a great concern but it remains to be seen what they're going to come out with, if anything."

If you are fully submerged in the Samsung culture, I could understand that line of thinking, but in the grand scheme of things, it's hard to put Apple past setting a new bar for any electronics industry, regardless of how well-established it is in any particular field. Steve Jobs and Tim Cook both admitted openly that the Apple TV was little more than a hobby project, but what's going to happen when Apple takes TVs seriously? Are they just going to make another little puck, only have it not suck for a change? Or are they going to go all-out, producing an entire TV set?

While I certainly agree with Moseley that Apple isn't likely to oust Samsung's top spot in TV in the next two years, I would be really surprised if Apple didn't at least introduce some considerable competition in that timeframe. Competitors are offering some really smart connected home solutions, but if Apple doesn't have a real presence in the world of TVs, the Mac, iPhone, and iPad will have comparatively limited reach. I'm eager to see how Apple patches that gap in their strategy, but what about you guys? Would you pay a premium for an Apple-made TV? 50-inch Retina Display, anyone?

Lastly, we can't help but remember what happened the last time existing players counted Apple out of an established industry -- namely Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Palm's Ed Colligan, who both believed Apple wouldn't get any significant market share -- when the iPhone launched in 2007.

Source: Pocket-Lint

Update: iTV denies The Telegraph's report:

The Telegraph's piece is entirely speculative, and there has been no recent dialogue between ITV and Apple. ITV has no further comment on the matter."

There have been an increasing number of rumors flying around that Apple is set to launch its own television set later this year. The rumors also all seem to think that if Apple does follow this product route, this particular television set will be called the iTV. Unfortunately for Apple, there is already a huge broadcasting company in the UK that already owns the name ITV. ITV stands for (Independent Television) and it is sharpening its knives ready for a fight; if Apple does decide to launch a television this year and name it the iTV.

Adam Crozier, chief executive of Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster, raised the issue with the company when he took the job in 2010, amid expectations that Apple would follow the pattern of branding used for its iPhone and iPad when it eventually cracked television. At the time, ITV, the broadcaster of popular period drama Downton Abbey, received assurances that Apple would not muscle into its territory, at least in the UK. However, insiders fear that the world’s biggest company might take a different stance under Tim Cook, who replaced Steve Jobs as chief executive shortly before Mr Jobs died in August last year.

Source: The Telegraph; Update: The Verge

The rumors surrounding an Apple's iTV television don't seem to be slowing down, and now a report has come out suggesting that two of Canada's top telecommunications companies, Rogers and Bell, are in talks to provide content for the still-unannounced, unreleased device.

“They’re not closed to doing it with one [company] or doing it with two,” said one source who is familiar with the talks. “They’re looking for a partner. They’re looking for someone with wireless and broadband capabilities.”

According to The Globe and Mail all three companies declined to comment on the matter, as expected. However, a second source claimed that both Rogers and Bell have the Apple television in their labs for testing.

The Globe and Mail also reported on iPhone and iPad based controls, Siri integration, and even Xbox Kinect-style remote gesture keyboards, though the sourcing of that information read more like analyst musings/wishful thinking than solid leaks.

Our living rooms are still a major battleground, with everyone from Apple to Google to Microsoft to Sony vying for the "third screen", a connected television, to add to the desktop/laptop and phone/tablet experience. However, no one has yet taken a decisive lead.

Steve Jobs famously said in his biography that he "cracked the television interface", and doing for television what the iPhone did for phones and the iPad for tablets would no doubt be welcome by many consumers who can't find the shows they want, when they want, on who-knows which box and with what remote any more. However, providing content for an Apple television, especially network programming, sports, and live events, is a huge challenge in a industry run by a multitude of regional cable monopolies.

The iPad has overcome some of this via apps that function like channels -- different television networks like ABC, studios like Sony, and sports leagues like MLB all have dedicated apps, some free, some requiring subscription, some requiring proof of existing cable service.

Apple's current Apple TV set top box, instead of apps, has built-in partner channels including MLB, but no App Store and no way for users to pick and choose which ones they want.

If Apple is, in fact, working on content deals with the likes of Rogers, it sounds like that same partner channel approach might be where we're headed for the Apple television. That's great for content, but not for selection.

Source - The Globe and Mail

Best Buy is currently running an online survey asking for its customers views on a potential Apple HDTV. The survey suggests that the Apple iTV television could be available as a 42” 1080p LED Flat Panel set that will run iOS applications, stream movies and deliver other entertainment programs from the internet. The cost could be as much as $1499.00.

Apple finally reinvents what a TV can do," saying that it'll run iOS, support iCloud, be controllable from an iPhone or iPad, and have access to Netflix, YouTube, and Flickr — in other words, it's an Apple TV wrapped in an actual television set, exactly as you'd expect.

Source: The Verge

Apple reportedly has sought to source IGZO panels from Sharp for the production of iTVs as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which unveiled their 55-inch Super OLED and AMOLED TV models, respectively, at CES, both have regarded OLED TVs are their killer products for 2012, and therefore the two Korea-based companies are unlikely to share OLED panel production capacities with Apple.

Source: Digitimes

Could Apple have an Siri-powered, OLED equipped iTV television set to debut this April or May? So a source within a "major electronics retailer" would have TechnoBuffalo believe.

Speaking on conditions of anonymity, the source said they’ve seen “gorgeous, very thin” pre-production versions of the set in person, and that they employ OLED panels at various sizes up to 42-inches.

In addition to Siri artificially intelligent, voice controlled assistant, they claim it will sport facial recognition, and be able to use the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad as a fallback controller. But wait, there's more!

Our source said Apple is exploring the notion of using the set to control other connected devices in the home; think along the lines of ovens that pre-heat while you’re watching TV before dinner, and garage doors that can be closed by voice command while you sit on the couch. No details were given as to whether Apple would consider manufacturing such devices, though given their history, a “Made for iPod” style accessory program would be a natural fit for a TV-based connected home system.

In Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography, the late Apple co-founder did claim he'd "cracked" the television interface, and rumors of an Apple television have certainly picked up steam ever since. However, Jobs has also spoken about how difficult a challenge it is to deal with regional cable and satellite monopolies and oligopolies, never mind paranoid, anachronistic Hollywood executive who believe Apple is out to destroy their business, and consumers to steal their content.

The part about "other connected devices" is interesting in so far as Google's Android at Home might one day compete at doing just that.

With iPad 3 likely to be the star of Apple's spring schedule, however, it's hard to see a new product like an iTV television getting jammed in alongside. Still, these kinds of rumors do get us thinking, even as we wait for them to get smashed. Or for a follow up claiming it will be exclusive to Sprint. Or that an iTVS Pro with Retina display will also hit before the end of the year. Whichever comes first...

Source: TechnoBuffalo

As part of Apple's record breaking Q1 2012 financial results, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the time to break out Apple TV numbers -- 2.8 million sold last year with half of those sales, 1.4 million, coming in the last quarter.

Cook insisted that Apple TV is still a hobby for Apple and while there was pressure to comment on the Apple iTV Television rumors, Cook managed to dodge his way around those questions simply by stating there was nothing else to talk about in that area. Of course, that's what Apple said about phones and tablets, once upon a time.

Totally avoided by analysts and Apple execs alike -- Apple TV 3 rumors. Where's our Apple A5 powered, 1080p update already?

Apple television -- iTV if you're trendy -- rumors just won't quit, but rather than bloggers and analysts, we're curious what you, the super smart members of the iMore Nation think Apple might have in store for your big living room screens?

Will there be one-size-fits-all, like iPhone and iPad, or a couple sizes like iMacs? What size or sizes would you prefer? 32- and 37-inches? 55-inches? 72-inches? Will they be 16:10 or 16:9?

Are we going to see something sleek and sexy, a glass and aluminum unibody, like Apple's existing product line or will we finely see some fancy carbon fiber or even liquid metal to cut down on the weight and take us into the future? Will there be input ports so you can hook up your existing cable or satellite box, your game console, or your receiver to the iTV? Will Apple want or even let all they cables muddy the appearance of their beautiful screen?

It almost has to run iOS like the existing Apple TV set top box, but will it run the same iOS as the existing Apple TV? Steve Jobs said he cracked the 10" user interface, but does that mean a Springboard-style grid of apps like iPhone and iPad or will Siri be the primary way we launch apps and search for shows? ("Play me something with ninja assassins!")

How will you control it? The current Apple Remote device and app are both... okay but neither are ideal. A Siri mic? Xbox Kinect style gestures? Will Apple keep it simple or will they really try to wow us again?

Will Apple be able to get content deals in place for network television stations? For major league sports? For pay-per-view movies? For specialty channels? And how will they present them? An ever growing list below "Shows" like on Apple TV or will each "channel" be an app like on iPhone and iPad? Will it have other apps like Safari or Twitter or Calendar so iTV is actually productive as well as fun? Or will it all be AirPlay from your iOS devices?

Would we even see it this year? Is 2012 the right time for an iTV or should Apple wait until 2013 to ramp up their television plans? And what happens to the existing Apple TV? Is it kept around for those who don't want an Apple television but still want the content, or does Apple ditch it to force us to buy the more expensive television?

Apple hasn't even announced the desire to announce a television set yet, and maybe they never will, but with so much speculation going on, we want to know what you want to have. What kind of iTV would like Apple to make you?

UK television channel ITV has released its catch up TV app, ITV Player. ITV Player is the first mobile app released that will allow you to watch ITV programs on you iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The content will be offered within the app for 7 days after it was originally screened live. You can also browse through recommended programs, search by channel or alphabetically and view the app in portrait or landscape.

The free app which is disappointingly WiFi only, offers content from the four ITV channels available in the UK. These are ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4. All the video content is streamed from within the ITV Player app. There does not appear to be any AirPlay support.

Another bit of bad news, is the app is strictly UK only due to the usual rights issues; some UK regions may not be able to access all of the content either! If any of our UK readers give this one a try, let us know how you find it!

[Free – iTunes link]

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• i.TV: See what’s airing on TV, available on Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes, schedule your TiVo DVR, and look up show information on IMDb and Wikipedia. Now a universal application for iPhone and iPad with a new interface and many new features. [Free - iTunes link]

• Graphing Calculator: Turn your iPhone into an intuitive high-resolution function plotter and scientific calculator. Now with the ability to graph inequalities and piece-wise functions. [$1.99 - iTunes link]

• Starbucks Card Mobile: No longer need to login to check your stars. [Free - iTunes link]

• TweetyPop: A new, fun and intuitive way to experience Twitter. As tweets appear, they sort in the chronological space-time-Twitter continuum. As you read each tweet, grab it with your finger and fling it off screen. [$1.99 - iTunes link]

• La Koketa Style Advisor: This app will help you look fabulous and confident in your own clothes on any given occasion. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

Check out a video of TweetyPop after the break!

TweetyPop - Your Twitter Universe, Reimagined. from TapFactory Apps on Vimeo.

Apple will be streaming this year's special music event live (here's the link), and we'll be here to provide all the color and commentary you've grown to love... or to love to hate. So if you're watching, come watch with us. Party starts now!

If Apple announces that much rumored, all new, all iOS AppleTV/iTV this Wednesday at their annual special music event, what kind of apps would you want on it?

When Apple introduced iPad, they let it run pretty much every iOS app made for iPhone and iPod touch (absent camera and phone apps, of course) by boxing them or pixel doubling them. Depending on the exact nature of the app, however, the experience at 1024x768 and 9.7-inches varied from fine to dismal. Luckily there were 5000 or so iPad specific apps available at launch and that number has continued to grow.

Now iPhone 4 -- and likely soon iPod touch 4 -- have 960x640 displays but still only 3.5-inches. If iPad was a step up, iTV will be a leap. There's an outside chance of 1960x1080 or the current 1280x720, both of which are probably workable just like they were for iPad... except TV screens won't be multitouch and they won't be in our hands or on our laps.

What made the 2007 iPhone a breakaway hit, what let it change the industry was its multitouch user interface. It disintermediated physical keyboards and styluses and let us touch and directly manipulate the UI.

Sitting 10 feet away, far removed from 30 to 70-inch screens, acting through some type of remote, wand, scroller, trackpad, or iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, what kind of apps make the most sense?

I can see a few categories.

• TV/Movie apps. Whether or not Apple offers subscription or rental TV, the existing big name TV and Movie apps need to be there. Netflix, Hulu plus, ABC. HBO. All of them.
• Game apps. Straight ports might not work, and games that depend on an iOS device as controller or secondary screen (like Scrabble for iPhone and iPad) might raise the cost of adaption, but big screen iOS gaming will almost certainly be front and center. And Game Center.
• Interactive book apps. Not iBooks but apps like the Dr. Seuss or Toy Story books for kids, especially if taken to the next level, would be wonderful educational resources.
• Reporting apps. The ability to display aggregated data about everything from the weather to all your and your friend's location check-ins to looking through Facebook albums to route planning for your iPhone navigation app would really take advantage of the big screen and family view.
• Web apps. I want Safari on my TV. If you can tether a BT keyboard, or use an iPhone or iPad as a keyboard, even email, twitter, etc. wouldn't have to be read-only.

While iPad is often labeled a consumption device, iTV would be even more consumption oriented. You probably wouldn't want to even try to knock out large docs or use complex productivity apps. It would be a grosser, more distant experience. But absorbing media and entertainment, information and analytics could be fantastic. Those are the types of apps I want to see.

How about you?

Digg founder Kevin Rose thinks the upcoming $99, iOS-powered Apple TV/iTV will change everything when it launches this September:

• iOS TV Applications: Expect to see an iPhone/Pad like marketplace for television applications. Video sharing/streaming/recording apps, interactive news apps, and of course games.
• a la carte (app) stations: With Apple's iAds, content producers (eg. ABC/NBC/etc.) can directly monetize and distribute their content. This will eventually destroy the television side of the cable and satellite industry, as your only requirement to access these on-demand stations will be an internet connection. Say goodbye to your monthly cable bill.
• .Me Picture/Video sharing: At $99 your parents, grandparents, and friends will have an iTV. Sharing pictures/videos from your iPhone will happen with the push of a button. Imagine getting a notification of new family videos the next time you turn on your TV. My mom will love this feature.
• The iPad will turn into one big badass remote control: The iPad will be the preferred input device for the iTV. You'll be able to editing videos, control games, and extend the interactive television experience. Imagine watching monday night football on the TV while viewing/exploring other camera angles on the iPad.

Rose has mixed history on Apple rumors. He's nailed some big scoops over the years, but he's also been wrong on more than one occasion. Which is this, far out or far fetched?

[Kevin Rose]

There's a rumor -- repeat, rumor -- going around that Apple will switch the Apple TV to iOS and rename it iTV, and that seems to be enough to get British broadcaster ITV all dressed and wigged up in litigation clothes.

"You only have to look at recent problems with the iPhone 4 to see not everything Apple produces is gold dust. We all take our ITV brand very seriously and we'll do everything in our power to protect it."

Ouch. Meow.

Apple for their part is staying mum:

"Apple does not comment on rumours and speculation."

We've seen Apple take iPhone and iOS from Cisco and work out licensing deals later. Could iTV be next and this saber-rattling just a way to tell Apple they better open up that Cupertino vault?

[Mirror, thanks to everyone who sent it in!]

Engadget has received info from a trusted source that the next Apple TV will be renamed iTV, have apps, and unfortunately, not support 1080p playback.

Apparently the box won't be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word -- and cause for much internal debate, we're told -- is that this has something to do with the A4's inability to crank on higher resolution content, but we don't see how that's possible considering the iPhone 3GS could play back full HD video. Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it's unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications.

Interestingly, the switch to the name iTV is actually what Apple had originally called the Apple TV and it makes sense to go back, especially since it looks like it will be similar to iOS with apps.

So what do you think about the lack of 1080p support? I find this extremely disappointing and can't imagine Apple releasing such a subpar product. However, at only a $99 price point, I may be able to forgive Apple for this one. How about you?

[Engadget]

Facebook 3.02, i.TV 2.0, and QuickOffice 1.4 -- among many others, no doubt -- have just hit the App Store, and what do they bring to the iPhone this time around?

• Facebook 3.02 [Free - iTunes link] contains the obligatory bug fixes as well as VoiceOver support. Very nice!

• QuickOffice 1.4 [$14.99 - iTunes link] now provides support for creating and editing Microsoft Office 2007 Word and Excel files (DOCX and XLSX)

• i.TV 2.0 [Free - iTunes link] offers a slew of new features, including remote control frameworks, push notification, and more.

If you update, let us know what you think!

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in!]

i.TV just let TiPb know they've submitted version 2.0 of their popular iPhone and iPod touch app to the iTunes App Store. What's in store for us this time out?

• Push Notification for TV shows
• Tap to download from iTunes
• TiVo Remote via the introduction of "Remote Control Framework":

i.TV now combines the TV guide and the remote control on an iPhone or iPod touch. Remote controls are powered by the i.TV Remote Control Framework, which allows third parties to develop remote controls for use on the i.TV platform.

How's all of that sound to ya?

It's interesting to see how developers try to monetize their work in the iTunes App Store. With the downward pressure towards $0.99 or free apps, many turn to advertising to make up the difference, but users are getting increasingly oblivious to advertising at the same time.

i.TV, as part of their recent update, has tried to make advertising more compelling by making it more interactive. It's an interesting strategy:

: i.TV introduces the world’s first “shakable” ad. This limited release “Shake-down 2 Get Down” campaign from Dockers features Dufon, from the dance expressionist group “Circle of Fire.” When you see the ad pop up, just shake your device to make Dufon dance!

Even if that loses its appeal after the first few times, it will likely still make a stronger impact than static text or banners. Can developers keep the pace of advertising innovation in line with that of the apps themselves? That remains a question.

The i.TV update also includes a dedicated tab for Comcast subscribers, the world’s first “shakable” advertisement, AT&T U-verse listings and major performance improvements.

Justin writes in to tell us about the awesomeness:

Netflix integration on [brings] a catalog of over 100k DVDs to our popular iPhone application. In addition to this, users can now manage their Netflix DVD and instant streaming queues straight from their iPhone or iPod touch.