Apple TV Development Led by iTunes Creators

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Before he passed away due to complications from cancer, one of Apple ex-CEO Steve Jobs’ pet projects was an integrated Apple TV. Recent news indicates that Apple is serious about becoming a big name in television.

In Steve Jobs, the official biography of the iconic Apple ex-CEO, Jobs relates to Walter Isaacson how he thinks TV is the future of Apple. He wanted to bring Apple TV to the masses, as well as let users sync television content across devices. “I nailed it,” he says.

But just what Jobs actually “nailed” is left hanging in the air. Analysts think that Apple will be making a move toward an integrated Apple TV, which means they’ll be building their own branded television sets soon. According to a report by our Steve Andersen, Apple is already working with component builders in making prototype Apple TV sets anywhere from 3.5 to 50 inches in diagonal size.

Up to now, Apple’s TV efforts have mostly been in the Apple TV set-top box, but Jobs wants something more. Sources cited by Bloomberg say that Apple’s Jeff Robbin, who was among the lead developers of iTunes when Apple was developing the iPod in the early 2000′s, is now guiding the internal development of Apple’s new TV effort. Robbin was among the creators of SoundJAM, which Apple acquired in its effort to develop its own branded media player. That effort resulted in iTunes, and Apple has sold more than 300 million iPods to date.

Apple has not officially confirmed doing work on a new Apple TV, and — as characteristic of Apple — spokespersons have declined to comment. But once they come up with an integrated Apple TV, it will likely include the simple interface that Jobs envisioned It is even speculated that Apple TV will include Siri, the speech recognition technology that powers the iPhone 4S. With Siri, users can simply talk to their TV sets and find programs, instead of having to fiddle with complicated remote controls.

With Apple has the right people working on the project, the new Apple TV is likely to be a success. iTunes has generated $1.5 billion in revenues in just the third quarter of 2011, with its 225 million registered users. Apple has already taken over the music business, but can it also dominate TV?