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Apple analyst Gene Munster says Apple HDTV with new remote coming in 2013, again

Jordan Kahn Jan 22 2013 - 11:50 am PT

apple-tv-tree Speaking with Bloomberg today about Apple’s upcoming earnings call, Piper Jaffray’s Apple analyst Gene Munster said his most recent checks with suppliers in Asia and industry sources indicate Apple is moving to release a full-fledged television this year with a new remote. This is of course not the first time the analyst has predicted Apple will release an HDTV—rather than an updated set-top box—in 2013…

Munster is expecting the Apple TV set to be one of three catalysts to help investors get behind Apple stock again in 2013. The other two are a Retina iPad mini in March and a low-cost iPhone later in the year. With the Apple TV information supposedly coming from supply chain sources in Asia, we’d expect Munster to have some more concrete specs instead of the same non-specific hearsay we’ve heard before. Note: Munster has predicted an Apple HDTV since 2011. Here’s what he had to say on Bloomberg (around the 9:40 mark):

The core of the debate is an improved set-top box… a hockey puck that attaches to your TV, or an actual television. Based on our work, in part, with talking to suppliers in asia, to talking with people in the industry, we think its an actual television. Specifically, the basic thing it fixes is the remote control problem… We think fixing that is going to be an important part of it. And the second piece down the road is content, content on demand. That’s essentially what apple television is.

Apple researching universal touchscreen remote with adaptable user interface for future TVs

Jordan Kahn Jan 26 2012 - 9:35 am PT

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A patent application published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office earlier today reveals Apple is flirting with the idea of a universal touchscreen controller capable of controlling multiple devices including a “television, a video tape player, a video disk player, a stereo, a home control system, or a computer system.” The patent application is titled “Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control” and was filed Sept. 30, 2011.

The patent application’s background covers many of the issues with current controllers for televisions and the devices mentioned above. It noted current universal remotes are “complex to operate” and unable to adapt to incorporate every command or control functionality supported by a device or future device. It also mentions the fact that users are often “confronted with multiple” remotes, which is the classic “table full of remotes” scenario described by Steve Jobs when talking about the Apple TV at D8. The patent application explained:

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Valeo’s Park4U remotely parks a Volkswagen with an iPhone

Jordan Kahn Sep 14 2011 - 2:14 pm PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeRUkNRyycA]

Looks like Bentley isn’t the only one unveiling some new Apple-related features at this year’s International Motor Show in Frankfurt. Auto-part and equipment supplier Valeo was showing off a variation of their Automatic Park4U system, this time remotely parking a Volkswagen using an iPhone.

Equipped with only the ability to brake and accelerate, CNET explains a “Valeo representative stood outside the car, a Volkswagen Sharan, and parked it merely by using an iPhone app.” We dug up the video above posted by Valeo that shows the iPhone app in action towards the end.

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