newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

At the D10 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California this week, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said he maintained “intense interest” in television technology, amid reoccurring rumors that the company planned to shake up the television industry with a device in late 2012 or 2013.

Apple currently sells a box known as Apple TV that streams content from the Internet to a television for $99. Cook said the company would ask if it can control the key technology.

"Can we make a significant contribution, far beyond what others have done in this area?’ he said, according to Yahoo! News. "Can we make a product that we would want?"

Cook didn’t answer questions about an upcoming Apple TV, but mentioned late former Apple co-founder Steve Jobs when he said he was looking toward the future: "Another thing that Steve taught us all is to not to be focused on the past."

The Washington Post reported that Jobs had said that he had “finally cracked” how to build a TV with a simple user interface that would synchronize content with Apple devices without the use of wires.

Apple is expected to introduce a lot of software at its World Wide Developers Conference in June. Most likely to appear are the iOS 6, Mountain Lion Maps and a more serious version of Siri. That should be followed in September or October by the iPhone 5, with a 4-inch display.

Apple has long been noted for its secrecy about its releases. "We're going to double down on secrecy on products," Cook told Computerworld.

But some commentators believe that Cook gave away enough information to lead them to believe that an Apple TV is on the way. "If you're in the market for a new TV, hold off," Gene Munster of investment banking firm Piper Jaffray said, according to Fortune Tech. "Apple has a new product coming and it's going to be hot.”