Edible Apple

Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray has long championed the notion that Apple will eventually release an HDTV. Speaking to the topic recently during an interview with Bloomberg Radio, Munster – who as far as we know has no inside sources at Apple – said that the mythical Apple HDTV will be introduced sometime in 2012 and may see the light of day by Fall.

The challenges Apple faces in the TV market are arguably great than the ones they were up against when they first introduced the iPhone and got their hands dirty in the smartphone market. That notwithstanding, Munster is exceedingly confident that an Apple HDTV will be the “biggest thing in consumer electronics since the smartphone.”

Those are extremely bold words, and while we eagerly look forward to Apple’s take on the TV viewing experience, it’s hard to imagine a device that costs upwards of $1500 being the biggest thing in consumer electronics.

In any event, 9to5Mac relays more of Munster’s opinions about what may very well prove to be Apple’s next big thing.

From the design standpoint, the iTV “will look different” than your regular telly. “Imagine just a sheet of glass – no edges or bevels”. The analyst reiterated his previous observations, including strong focus on content consumption (presumably delivered through iTunes/iCloud) and Siri voice control. More notes right below.

The analyst is also expecting the iTV will let you both channel surf the traditional way – using a remote control – and navigate by using your voice (“show me sci-fi movies rated 8/10 and released last year”). He speculated this dual-mode navigation is “the code that Steve Jobs said he had cracked in his biography”. Last April, Munster asserted Apple would have to introduce a new video-focused service alongside the iTV, presumably serving scheduled/live TV plus movies and TV shows. The service is said to stem from an alleged array of super data centers that Apple is supposedly keen on building the world over.