The Apple HDTV rumour mill is about to step up a notch, as U.S retailer Best Buy seems to have spread details of the unannounced product willy-nilly in a customer survey.
Although many rumours have circulated about Apple planning to release a Smart HDTV later this year, in its traditional style, the company hasn’t confirmed a single thing about such a product. This makes it rather strange that Best Buy speaks of the ‘Apple iTV’ in the survey as a product that all customers would know about.
In the survey Best Buy apparently asks customers their opinions on the proposed product from Apple. From the wording of the survey Best Buy comes across as being ‘in the know’, rather than simply proposing some of the rumoured features and asking which customers would prefer. This has led many tech websites to believe that Best Buy has insider info and has made a massive slip-up, or that the customer survey has been poorly worded, and that the company is in fact asking customers what they think of some suggested features and specifications.
The survey has been popping up for customers who have visited the Best Buy U.S site; a snapshot of which you can see above. Best Buy is saying that Apple’s HDTV product will be 42-inches in size with a panel of the LED-lit variety, so it’s going to be pretty slim and sleek.
We’re also told that the TV will run on Apple’s iOS software platform also used on the iPhone and iPad, which will play host to web-based video streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix, as well as downloadable apps via Apple’s App Store.
Best Buy also says that the TV will feature a built-in ‘iSight’ camera and microphone for Skype calling, which seems a little off. If Apple’s television were to feature an inbuilt camera, we’re almost certain they would have it work with Facetime, the company’s own video calling service, and not Skype.
Finally, we’re told by Best Buy that Apple’s TV will be controllable using an iPad or iPhone, which is something we at Gadget Helpline had been hoping for. A simple free App from Apple could make this a reality, so we’re hoping Best Buy is spot on here.
We’re staying sceptical on this one for now; Best Buy’s roundup of specs and features may seem pretty accurate, but it’s extremely rare for a big name retailer to be leaking Apple product information so openly.
What do you think of the information listed in the survey?
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Via: The Verge