Edible Apple

The heavily rumored Apple HDTV is in the news again today. This time, Digitimes claims that Apple has already started preparing for an iTV launch during the second or third quarter of 2012.

Instead of a form of set-top box (STB) like the Apple TV launched in 2006, Apple’s new products will be full TV sets, the sources added.

Media reports in Korea also indicated that Samsung Electronics started producing chips for the iTVs in November 2011, while Sharp will produce the displays for the new TVs.

The displays of the new iTV sets will focus on 32- and 37-inch sizes initially, noted sources in the supply chain.

Now this jibes with previous reports we’ve seen with respect to features – LCD screens from Sharp and processors from Samsung – but the release date is a bit on the early side compared to a slew of other reports which point to an early 2013 launch date.

Also, we’re a bit curious about the screen sizes. Previous reports have claimed Apple will release sets in a slew of sizes, with 32-inches on the low end and 55 on the high-end. 37-inches is certainly decent, but in today’s market when you can pick up a 46-inch LCD for just a few hundred bucks, we imagine Apple won’t top out with a 37-inch model if it hopes to be competitive.